News

Constituency matters... a weekly column by the Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe, Damian Collins.
15 December 2011

Christmas is a time for good cheer but for some it also the busiest period of the working year. Last week I visited the Royal Mail sorting offices in Folkestone, Hythe and New Romney, to meet the postal workers who make sure that all of our cards and presents get through in time. This time last year the snow was very disruptive to the Christmas post, and the currently milder winter has made things a lot easier. I wanted to thank them for all of their work over the festive period.

In the New Year a state of the art sorting office for Kent is due to open in Strood and it is expected that this investment will help improve the efficiency of the network. I was also interested to discuss the growth in the parcels and packages businesses for Royal Mail from online shopping, and from my visit it looks like there has been another large increase for this Christmas.

This trend for more online shopping is of course a concern for traditional businesses in our high streets and town centres. This has been highlighted by ‘Mary Queen of Shops’, Mary Portas, in a review commissioned from her by the Government, and which was published on Tuesday. The long term trends for shopping online and in large retails parks out of town is not going to change overnight. The challenge should be to find ways to make our town centres vibrant places that people what to spend time in.

Mary Portas suggests in her report, and I agree with this idea, that it should be easier to change the use of an empty shop if no new tenants can be found. This could mean a shop becoming a cafe, gallery space or converted into a home. The long term changes to the way we live and shop should be acknowledged and we should consider what else we can do to bring people into our town centres.

We can see some of this approach at work in the Old Town area of Folkestone where the Creative Foundation have not just renovated shops, but also created gallery and work spaces. I believe it would add a lot to the vibrancy of town centres to have more people and trades working there, and not just in shops.

You can read Mary Portas’s report on her website www.maryportas.com.

There is also interesting work being led by community interest companies like ‘Meanwhile Space’ that help landlords and local authorities to find innovative solutions to use empty shops, until a new permanent tenant is found. This could include creating low cost incubator space for start up businesses, for example.

I was also delighted last Friday evening to join the Leader of Shepway Council Robert Bliss, the Folkestone Salvation Army and a choir from St Eanswythe primary school to unveil a new plaque on the bandstand on The Leas. This year the plaque was dedicated to the popular character actor and Folkestonian, Arthur Brough, who is best known for his staring role as Mr Grainger in the BBC comedy show ‘Are you being served.’

Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast News 2011©