With restrictions being eased around the UK, following regionally defined roadmaps, I was asked, by BBC Wales, what are the best ways for towns and cities to emerge from the pandemic?
Plan for recovery
First, places of any size need to have a recovery plan and action it. The good news is that most cities and many towns do have a plan, but for these plans to translate into an effective recovery, businesses, council, and the community will need to play their part and work together.
Swansea was one of the first places in Wales in bring out a clear recovery plan. It was led by the Business Improvement District, and the plan coordinated all the operational basics the city needed to focus on through the crisis and put it a good position for recovery. That included making more outside areas available for hospitality businesses to trade, as well as reduced parking fees. The lesson here is to focus on interventions that encourage people back safely, anything that makes it easy for them to support their town centre with their footfall and spending.
People have missed meeting up and enjoying time and treats with friends and family – but even once restrictions start to be lifted, they will still want to do this safely. The towns and cities that make more outside space available will capture this spend. English border towns may well be the main beneficiaries from a fortnight of Welsh visitors, who can travel out of Wales from the 12th April to enjoy outdoor hospitality at cafes, pubs and restaurants in England, but have to wait until the 26th April until Welsh hospitality businesses are allowed to re-open.
Social spending is where there is going to be most ‘pent-up demand’ as it has been the most COVID-affected category of expenditure. Some individual businesses can extend onto their own outside space and potentially pavements, car-parks and other adjoining space too. But are there opportunities to use other spaces in the town, like squares or pedestrianized streets, to be used for communal business usage – especially to help those businesses that have limited or no outside space in their immediate vicinity? Perhaps only at certain times (e.g. early evening and weekends) and with temporary shelters and lighting to make areas functional and attractive?
Continue reading “Welcome back: ways towns and cities will emerge from the pandemic”