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Clone Town Britain

Clone town BritainThe survey results on the bland state of the nationnefis an independent think-and-dotank that inspires and demonstratesreal economic well-being. We aim to improve quality of life bypromoting innovative solutions thatchallenge mainstream thinking oneconomic, environmental and socialissues. We work in partnership andput people and the planet (the new economics foundation) is a registered charity founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES),which forced issues such as international debt onto the agenda of the G7/G8 summit meetings. We have taken a lead in helpingestablish new coalitions and organisations, such as the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign; the Ethical Trading Initiative; the UK SocialInvestment Forum; and new ways to measure social and environmental and recommendations2 The death of diversity5 The Clone town parade: findings from the survey10 Identity theft: community struggles against cloning17A design for diversity: innovations promoting variety23 Conclusion 36 Endnotes37 Contentsnef sClone To

that supermarkets have a monopolistic stranglehold over suppliers, but initiatives to solve the problem have failed – because suppliers fear retaliation. An independent and confidential watchdog, to allow suppliers to complain in confidence is long overdue. Clone Town Britain 3

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Transcription of Clone Town Britain

1 Clone town BritainThe survey results on the bland state of the nationnefis an independent think-and-dotank that inspires and demonstratesreal economic well-being. We aim to improve quality of life bypromoting innovative solutions thatchallenge mainstream thinking oneconomic, environmental and socialissues. We work in partnership andput people and the planet (the new economics foundation) is a registered charity founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES),which forced issues such as international debt onto the agenda of the G7/G8 summit meetings. We have taken a lead in helpingestablish new coalitions and organisations, such as the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign; the Ethical Trading Initiative; the UK SocialInvestment Forum; and new ways to measure social and environmental and recommendations2 The death of diversity5 The Clone town parade: findings from the survey10 Identity theft: community struggles against cloning17A design for diversity: innovations promoting variety23 Conclusion 36 Endnotes37 Contentsnef sClone town Britain Surveyreleased people s deep sense of uneaseabout the increasing uniformity of our high streets, and the wider impacts thatthis is having on our local economies and communities.

2 Launched in 2004 theSurvey enabled people to broadly quantify the loss of diversity on their ownhigh streets, and large numbers took up the challenge. Here are the results. Asthis Report shows, we are reaching a critical juncture: We can choose to takeaction that will lead to thriving, diverse, resilient local economies across the UK;or, we can do nothing and condemn ourselves to bland identikit townsdominated by a few bloated retail behemoths. The choice is August 2004, neflaunched the Clone town Britain report and nationalsurvey to quantify another, related phenomenon, that is emerging on highstreets which are still economically active. Real local shops have been replacedby swathes of identikit chain stores that seem to spread like economic weeds,making high streets up and down the country virtually indistinguishable fromone another.

3 Retail spaces once filled with a thriving mix of independentbutchers, newsagents, tobacconists, pubs, bookshops, greengrocers andfamily-owned general stores are becoming filled with faceless supermarketretailers, fast-food chains, and global fashion outlets. Many town centres thathave undergone substantial regeneration have lost their sense of place and thedistinctive facades of their high streets under the march of the glass, steel, andconcrete blandness of chain stores built for the demands of inflexible businessmodels that provide the ideal degree of sterility to house a string of big, clonetown retailers. nef s Clone town Britain Surveyclearly resonated with people s deep sense ofunease about the increasing uniformity of our high streets, and the widerimpacts that this is having on our local economies and communities.

4 TheSurvey enabled people to broadly quantify the loss of diversity on their ownhigh streets, and large numbers took up the challenge. nefhas also beencontacted by small, unfunded community groups across the country that arebravely resisting the onslaught of the Report reveals the findings of the survey. It paints a picture that is bothmore disturbing and more filled with possibility than we have been able toprovide before. It has both enraged and inspired us I hope it does you SimmsPolicy director, nef1 Clone town BritainIntroductionIn 2002nef(the new economics foundation) beganpublishing a series of groundbreaking Ghost TownBritain reports. The reports revealed the extent towhich, over the past two decades, the construction oflarge out-of- town shopping centres and waves of high-street bank-branch closures have driven many peopleaway from town -centre shopping, creating ghostcommunities with few or no services town Britain ?

5 If we are to avoid becoming a nation of Clone towns, we must learn from theseexamples. The homogenisation of high streets is not a benign or inevitable productof progress . Just as regulatory changes have allowed it, the right changes canbegin to turn back the the Survey was launched in 2004, over 160 surveys have been completed,covering around 150 villages, towns or city areas around Britain with populationsbetween 5,000 and 150,000. Not all of these were complete, so the final surveyresults are based on 103 national and 27 London home townis a place that retains its individual character and is instantlyrecognisable and distinctive to the people who live there, as well as those who visit. Aclone town is a place that has had the individuality of its high street shops replacedby a monochrome strip of global and national chains that means its retail heart couldeasily be mistaken for dozens of other bland town centres across the country.

6 Of the towns surveyed 41 per cent are Clone towns, 26 per cent border townsand 33 per cent home towns. In actual numbers the survey revealed 42 Clone towns, 27 border towns and 34home towns. Of the London villages surveyed; 48 per cent are clones , 19 per cent borderlineand 33 per cent are home towns. In actual numbers that represents 13 clones ,5borderlines, and 9 home towns. 2 Clone town BritainSummary and recommendationsBoth in the UK, and elsewhere examples abound ofcommunities and local authorities taking steps tocreate and maintain diversity and the environment oftheir choice. The town that reached the most extreme Clone score was Exeter managingonly a meagre out of 60. The survey also revealed that Clone town high streets are not only populated byidentikit chain stores, they also have a smaller range of categories of shop thanborder, or home towns, meaning a poorer range of services available for peoplein a given for diversityBritain doesn t have to become a nation of Clone towns.

7 As the Survey resultsshow; there is still time for action to protect our home towns, to prevent our bordertowns becoming Clone towns, and to begin to reverse the trend in the towns thathave already been overtaken by the clones . Some of the solutions already authorities and innovative town councils are already using existing aspects ofplanning law to protect and enhance diversity. In other areas government actionwill be needed to create a framework in which retail diversity can thrive once this Report shows, we are reaching a critical juncture: We can choose to takeaction that will lead to thriving, diverse, resilient local economies across the UK; or,we can do nothing and condemn ourselves to bland identikit towns dominated bya few bloated retail behemoths.

8 The choice is ours. This Report outlines a range of policy solutions, which, if implemented could beginto reverse the process. The fight back starts here. This report calls for action to: Use planning law to protect locally owned stores. Section 106 agreements:the negotiation between developers and planners over arcane details to do withgranting planning permissions usually about low-cost housing could easilybe extended to force retailer developers to include locally owned stores. Apply local proximity protection. Some local authorities are already applyingthe idea of local proximity such as 400m or five minutes walk to protect, forexample, the last food shop in a parade from change of use in order to meetpeople s need for access to healthy food.

9 Tackle upward-only rent. The clauses that insist that rent rises will only beupwards are unfair, and impact particularly severely on small, independentlyowned businesses. Upward-only rent may be outlawed in a government have to ensure that this happens. Introduce a retail takeover moratorium. There should be a moratorium onfurther takeovers of existing chains either by Tesco, or any of the other threelargest multiple retailers. Apply a limit of eight per cent market four leading supermarketsshould divest their interests above an eight per cent national threshold, the levelabove which the OFT believes that abuse of market power that is damaging forretail can occur. Tackle the tardis factor. Supermarkets have been getting around floor spacerestrictions in planning permission by miscalculating storage space and thenconverting it, or by adding mezzanine floors.

10 The Office of the Deputy PrimeMinister (ODPM) has already taken action to close the loophole that allowedmezzanine floors. Action must also be taken to stop other tricks used to getaround planning rules to extend floor space. Make complaints to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) confidential:It is clearthat supermarkets have a monopolistic stranglehold over suppliers, butinitiatives to solve the problem have failed because suppliers fear independent and confidential watchdog, to allow suppliers to complain inconfidence is long overdue. 3 Clone town Britain Introduce local competition ODPM needs to introduce this toguarantee fair market access to small, local and independent retailers, andprevent the loss of choice through any retailer becoming too dominant in anytown centre.


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