Save our High Streets!
Lib Dem candidate to be our next MP launches campaign to breathe life back into our city centre and shopping areas
Lib Dem Jonnie Beddall has launched a campaign to save our high streets and bring life back to Exeter city centre and our shopping areas.
Our high streets should be places people are proud of.
Exeter city centre is being held back by empty shops, anti-social behaviour and a lack of support for local businesses that keep the high street alive.
Residents across Exeter have made it clear they're worried about the state of the high street.
Too many shopfronts now sit empty, graffiti has crept across boarded-up windows and shutters, and shoplifting has become a regular problem.
That's why the Lib Dems are calling for practical action to bring empty shops back into use faster, make our streets cleaner and safer, and back the businesses that keep our community going.
Lib Dem Campaigner Jonnie Beddall said:
"I've lost count of how many people talk to me about the on-going neglect of our city centre, especially on Sidwell Street.
"Our plan would tackle the causes head-on, so our high streets become somewhere people want to visit, spend time in and feel proud of again."
The Lib Dem plan to save our high streets:
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- An emergency VAT Cut for hospitality, accommodation and attractions from 20% to 15% to boost footfall and help families with the cost of living.
- Reform Business Rates with a Commercial Landowner Levy to shift the tax burden from struggling tenants to commercial landowners.
- Cracking down on Ghost Landlords by requiring overseas landlords to provide UK contact details, and by closing loophole that allow units to be leased to shell companies
- Introduce an “Out-of-Town” Levy to ensure that out-of-town developments contribute to a fund that reinvests directly into our high streets.
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- Tackling Organised Shoplifting by calling on the National Crime Agency to set up a dedicated unit to dismantle the organised gangs targeting our local stores.
- Encourage Smarter Design by investing in strategic lighting and CCTV to discourage anti-social behaviour.
- Improve Accessibility by funding high-quality pedestrianisation projects, promoting active travel and review parking charges to ensure they support evening and weekend footfall, and by making sure local voices are heard during the planning stages.
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- Make it easier to convert vacant shops into community spaces without being bogged-down by outdated planning rules.
- Introduce a High Street Culture Fund by partnering with the Arts Council to provide five-year grants for community-led cultural initiatives and local events.
- Introduce Community Investment Schemes allowing local people to invest directly into their community, by supporting community purchases, restoring heritage buildings or backing local enterprise space.
- Encourage Homes Above Shops by converting the upper floors of buildings into quality housing to bring residents - and life - back into the hearts of our towns and cities.
- Crack down on dodgy vape shops by giving local councils the power to restrict their numbers on the high street and to close down cowboy vendors.
Save our High Streets!
I/we the undersigned back the Liberal Democrats' plan to breathe some life back into Exeter city centre and our shopping areas