01 May 2020

The Coast to Capital area does not fit the template of most regional economies. Rather than a single identifiable city region, it is a network of functional economic hubs centered around Greater Brighton, East Surrey and across West Sussex. Each has its own distinct sense of identity and pre-COVID-19 offered a powerful draw for businesses, entrepreneurs and visitors from London, across the UK and the rest of the world.

Areas including Worthing, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, had the potential to be future economic hubs with scope for growth and investment. Other towns such as Burgess Hill, Horsham and Shoreham were pursuing their own distinct paths to growth, reflecting their specific strengths and circumstances. The distinctive towns including Epsom, Leatherhead, Reigate, Dorking, Oxted and Redhill also form a central part of our economic area in East Surrey.

 

Previous blogs have highlighted that the Coast to Capital's economy is particularly exposed in relation our key sectors of tourism, retail, hospitality, entertainment and culture. As a result, the impact of coronavirus on the high streets in our area will be especially pronounced, in particular in Crawley due to its unique relationship with and proximity to the airport. Gatwick Airport expects that it could take four years for passenger numbers to recover.

 

A recent report from the Centre for Cities highlights that high streets that were performing well are better placed to recover post-locked down but weaker city centres that were already in decline will likely see things worsen. It concludes that long-term effort is required to help High Streets recover and thrive again and whilst the Future High Streets Fund is a good starting point it recommends that Government should create a 'City Centre Productivity Fund' with the aim of improving the attractiveness of city centres as places to do business.

 

This would take many years to fully implement so in the short-term, considerations should be given to how places can be adapted to manage public health risks and give people confidence in using them. Some places in our area are considering longer-term changes to public realm on the back of the disruption for example, in Brighton where a large part of the sea front has been pedestrianised.

 

A number of authorities in the Coast to Capital area are interested in becoming exemplars of a COVID-resilient town centre. For example clear way-finding, changes to street environment, the use of town centre ambassadors helps to make it welcoming to and safe for people coming out of lockdown.

 

There are significant lessons to be learnt from the London Olympics 2012 where an army of volunteer 'Game Makers' provided advice, guidance and directions to visitors to the games making their visit a much more managed, pleasant and safe experience. In addition, demand was supressed very effectively for 3 weeks without affecting economic output. I was lead Director on this in DfT at the time and I feel it is a highly replicable model.

 

Coast to Capital Board Director Karen Dukes reflects further on interventions that COVID-resilient towns and places could consider:

 

"I worked in London during the Olympics and saw at first hand the difference that information volunteers brought to visitors to the city. I also saw that reducing demand on transport by regular service users at certain times enabled traffic to flow far better.

I have seen this work well in other countries too where local authorities position guides on the streets to provide advice and direction to maintain the safety of people on the streets.

As the lockdown is eased we will be moving into a period of adjustment. The new routines people have had to adopt to essential shopping will need expanding. This will be daunting for many, particularly those not used to restrictions on movement; interventions that can help ensure that town centres are as safe as possible will encourage people spending again with the least risk to public health.

It will require a change of thinking and planned and managed routes to ensure people can access the shops and facilities they would usually. It will also mean thinking outside the box about the town and high-street 'offer' - utilising parks and public realm differently."

 

With the high street under such threat, there will be a competitive advantage for those towns who want to have a chance of survival and start to think ahead.

 

Jonathan Sharrock,

Chief Executive at Coast to Capital

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