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Preparing your strategy

Having developed a vision of the kind of town centres and night-time economies people want, local leaders should develop a framework for managing and co-ordinating the actions of local partners in order to deliver local aspirations.

A vision for local town and city centres should form a central part of local Community Plans, compiled by Local Strategic Partnerships.

Every centre will have its own role and purpose and its own particular combination of problems, which will change over time. It could be a major centre that already has a mature evening economy or secondary suburban and market town that is still developing or looking to attract evening and late-night activity.

Strategies for smaller centres


Many smaller centres – including small market towns, resorts, former industrial towns, district and local centres – face a number of challenges, particularly in attracting investment. Many lose out to larger centres and do not have developed strategies for their economic future.

A key message from our State of the English Cities report (ODPM, March 2006) is that many English cities have been economically successful during recent decades and there has been considerable investment and urban regeneration, especially in city centres. Although this economic success needs to be spread more widely there is much success to be celebrated and many authorities have developed much good practice in local leadership and how to generate visions for their key centres.

But many smaller centres continue to face difficult challenges in finding viable new roles and attracting investment. Many of these centres often lose out on investment to their larger competitors and are not underpinned by clear and proactive strategies for their economic future. Out-of-centre retail floorspace often also presents significant challenges for smaller centres and the businesses and services in them. This situation is compounded by the fact that many local authorities are not being proactive enough about sustaining and enhancing their smaller centres.