State of high streets 'a key issue' in council elections

It is on the high street that Thursday's local elections could be won or lost.

It is where many voters really feel the impact of local political decisions – whether that is planning applications, street art or parking charges.

Huyton in Knowsley, Merseyside, is a great example.

Spend a day here chatting to people and you will hear a dozen different priorities for those hoping to be elected on Thursday.

As soon as you step off the train in Huyton and head to the shops, you see the town's former Labour MP and Prime Minister Harold Wilson immortalised in bronze.

He represented this community for 30 years in Parliament, and during his time in office, the town centre was almost completely demolished and rebuilt.

Knowsley Council is dominated by Labour, with the party having two-thirds of its 45 councillors.

The borough has been run by Labour ever since its local authority was created in 1974.

Huyton's shopping centre is still referred to by local people as "the village", dating back to the days when it was indeed a rural community.

Having already been redeveloped several times, is about to undergo another huge facelift as part of a 10-year development plan.

Most shops are currently housed in 1970s style buildings along a wide pedestrianised street.

The types of businesses opening and closing is a hot topic for many who live and work in the town.

If you like coffee, there certainly is plenty of choice.

Jeffery, spending some precious time with his grandson, is happy about this.

"It's great with the coffee shops and restaurants," he said. "But it would be even better if retailers came back."

Though conceding that shopping habits had changed in recent years, he said having a broader choice would attract more people.

"If the village centre plans go ahead, that will be good," he said, adding: "I'd also like to see some more green space."

Like many other high streets, larger retailers like Holland & Barrett, New Look and Boots have left Huyton village for out-of-town retail parks.

A Knowsley Council spokesperson said: "The council is aware that shopping habits have changed, particularly during and after the Covid pandemic, but it is doing all that it can to attract more businesses into the town centres as well as providing a programme of events throughout the year which includes Marvellous Markets touring the borough, providing a food offer as well as hand-crafted gifts.

"To support town-centre businesses, Knowsley Council continues to offer free parking across all council-owned car parks – that's providing hundreds of free parking spaces across Huyton, Kirkby and Prescot."

A new addition to the high street is a "maker-space", Make Huyton, which offers an artist's studio and classes as well as selling crafts made by local people.

Liam Kelly from Make said: "Like many towns in the north, Huyton village faces the challenges of a changing country and the retail offer doesn't meet the needs of people like it used to.

"The council and local businesses have big plans for the town but frustratingly Huyton missed out on big government funding again and again".

Future plans for the village include the creation of a commercial district (which will include the council's HQ, a hotel, commercial and residential accommodation), a village green and improvements to the station gateway.

The council said it had proactively tried to increase the number of places to eat in Huyton with "improvements to shop fronts, new windows, doors, signage and lighting".

It added: "These improvements have allowed for more food and beverage operators to consider Huyton, with a range of establishments opening up.

"There is a lot of choice for a small town - Mediterranean, Italian, Greek and Turkish eateries."

The new places to eat are welcomed, but several people who spoke to the BBC raised the issue of anti-social behaviour, and said the sight of teenagers hanging round the streets may be intimidating for some diners.

Mum Katie said she sympathised with teens since "there's not enough amenities" for them.

Katie said: "I have a daughter who is 14 and there's just not many places for her to go, so you find at that age they're just walking around the streets.

"As a parent, you've got to give them some freedom - you can't keep them in the house.

"If there was a place they could go, you'd feel more relaxed knowing they were safe with their friends.

"When I was young, there were more community centres."

A council spokesperson said: "The council continues to work with partners to tackle issues impacting on local communities, including antisocial behaviour.

"This includes educating young people around the consequences of behaving antisocially, directing them to diversionary activities through our 'Be The Change' approach to universal and targeted interventions, taking appropriate action under the powers available to the Community Safety team such as Acceptable Behaviour Agreements and monitoring the Borough's extensive CCTV coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Knowsley is the second most deprived borough in England, according to the Office for National Statistics.

For Henry, who spoke to the BBC on his way to pick up some essentials from the shops, the "biggest issue is the cost of living" which he said was "really high" and he saw reflected by people seeking out bargains on the high street, or spending less.

He said: "I think that's frustrating people, nothing seems to be working to address it, and that might affect how they vote.

"Council tax has gone up, and yet things like the roads aren't being fixed quick enough."

Reform UK's Alexander Hitchmough said the regeneration of Knowsley's town centres like Prescot, Huyton and Kirkby had ultimately failed.

He said: "High streets are the heart of communities but have been battered by high taxes and town-centre rents.

"Reform is a party that truly understands business. We will look to slash red tape and unnecessary costs for SMEs, helping them to survive and thrive.

"Labour's stewardship of Knowsley has failed the area for 52 years. Rather than concentrating on improving our communities in meaningful ways, the council continues to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on management consultants to deliver unwanted egotistical vanity projects and art installations."

Hitchmough said "£38 million was wasted on building the Shakespeare North Playhouse in a misguided attempt to improve the Prescot night-time economy without adequate scrutiny of the decision-making process.

"It continues to lose money, and is subsidised annually by Knowsley Council taxpayers to keep it afloat. That money should be spent on improving desperately needed local services."

Mark Burke, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Knowsley Council, said: "Whilst the Lib Dems will support any effort to regenerate our high streets, we cannot help but be appalled by the lack of foresight and direction of the Labour-controlled Knowsley Council.

"Whilst the purchase of Prescot Shopping Centre could be seen as progressive, to not actually have a plan for it before purchase is baffling and bizarre. To knock the centre down without a clear plan for its future use is inexcusable.

"Whilst Huyton town centre has seen encouraging regeneration recently, the council's major investment plans smack of a vanity project. Consultation was virtually non-existent."

The Green Party and the Conservatives have both been invited to comment.

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