High Streets Taskforce recruits 150 ‘experts’

The High Streets Task Force has appointed more than 150 experienced professionals to help towns deal with the continuing impact of the pandemic.

The task force has recruited highly qualified experts from leading national bodies: Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), Landscape Institute, Design Council, and the Institute of Place Management.

The experts, mentors and facilitators will deliver a range of services, including workshops with local authorities and communities to explore and build local visions, mentoring for place leaders, and bespoke advice to help councils tackle complex issues that are blocking progress.

In building the experts register, each body has identified a list of between ten and twelve areas of expertise which are represented by its membership.

This approach ensures that towns are supported by those with specific expertise that are best placed to advise on their issues.

‘This is such a wonderful opportunity to actively participate in re-imagining our high streets,’ said executive director of Nexus Planning and taskforce expert, Rob Pearson.

‘I am most looking forward to meeting key stakeholders in the places they live, work and shop, in order to understand what makes each individual place tick, and also perhaps to challenge some of the old conventions around town centres and their modern-day function.’

Professor Cathy Parker, co-director of the Institute of Place Management and research lead for the High Streets Task Force, added: ‘Our work with high streets has shown the vast range of strategic and practical issues that local authorities and other actors have to address, particularly after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are the very current challenges of ensuring communities can use their high streets with confidence, providing appropriate support for businesses and other organisations. At the same time, place leaders are managing the evolution of centres so they become vibrant community hubs.

‘The task force recognises that it’s very difficult for one place to have all the answers to all these challenges. Our experts, mentors and facilitators will help to build that capacity, providing expertise that’s really needed and simplifying the advisory landscape for places that are busy getting on with change.’

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