The Queen of Shops has spoken and Little Mix has won the X Factor.
How long before the girl group are appointed special advisers to George Osborne or David Cameron on some irrelevant topic as another specious attempt to rekindle public interest in their failing big society project?
We need to start shopping again, the High Street is threatened let's have an X Factor style makeover.
Better, cheaper parking. Fewer planning restrictions. Lower rates. Fewer shiny sheds. More pop up markets.
Well who knows? Ms Portas may have a point.
But comparing the High Street in Genoa with the High Street in Carlisle I would say that none of the above apply.
Parking in Genoa is a nightmare.
The shops are zoned in the sense that the High value stores line the better streets with the better addresses whilst the lower end stores, pop markets etc are found in the Old Town with the second hand shops. There are no Charity Shop,s Italians don't do charity shops.
Rates in Genoa are universally high.
Like in the UK the shiny sheds are out of town, Ikea is in Sestri for example, which is out of town and needs a bus, car or scooter to get to.
I guess that my own experience is not necessarily the same as yours or indeed Ms Portas, but the reason I don't shop much, either in Genoa or Carlisle, arises from two compelling reasons.
The lack of money and the Internet.
I do feel guilty when I buy another ebook from Amazon, I know that the closure of another lovely, local bookstore is imminent.
But the cost benefit ratio is clearly with Amazon. Oh, I know that there are Libraries, (just about).
But the ebook is instantly delivered to my kindle, I don't have to venture out into the rain and ice, don't have to drive around for hours before I can park, don't have to negotiate the in-house critic's wheelchair through a generally inaccessible town centre.
And, generally it is cheaper, which, given that my disposable income like most peoples (other than Bankers and Politicians) is increasingly being spent on keeping a roof over my head and paying the Gas Bill, is a good thing.
So it might be that the X Factor style, instant celebrity critic, still fresh from their latest TV series is not necessarily the best person to advise the Prime Minister on how to bring his big society vision to the High Street.
High Streets have been dying for years.
What is needed is not more shops and more greenfield housing developments but the repopulating of our Town Centres.
Over the years I have lived in three City Centres, Cambridge, Mass., Bradford, West Yorkshire and Genoa.
City Centre living is wonderful, energising and it is great to have your favourite department store or bookshop as your local store.
Bring people back into City Centres and the High Street will live again.
How long before the girl group are appointed special advisers to George Osborne or David Cameron on some irrelevant topic as another specious attempt to rekindle public interest in their failing big society project?
We need to start shopping again, the High Street is threatened let's have an X Factor style makeover.
Better, cheaper parking. Fewer planning restrictions. Lower rates. Fewer shiny sheds. More pop up markets.
Well who knows? Ms Portas may have a point.
But comparing the High Street in Genoa with the High Street in Carlisle I would say that none of the above apply.
Parking in Genoa is a nightmare.
The shops are zoned in the sense that the High value stores line the better streets with the better addresses whilst the lower end stores, pop markets etc are found in the Old Town with the second hand shops. There are no Charity Shop,s Italians don't do charity shops.
Rates in Genoa are universally high.
Like in the UK the shiny sheds are out of town, Ikea is in Sestri for example, which is out of town and needs a bus, car or scooter to get to.
I guess that my own experience is not necessarily the same as yours or indeed Ms Portas, but the reason I don't shop much, either in Genoa or Carlisle, arises from two compelling reasons.
The lack of money and the Internet.
I do feel guilty when I buy another ebook from Amazon, I know that the closure of another lovely, local bookstore is imminent.
But the cost benefit ratio is clearly with Amazon. Oh, I know that there are Libraries, (just about).
But the ebook is instantly delivered to my kindle, I don't have to venture out into the rain and ice, don't have to drive around for hours before I can park, don't have to negotiate the in-house critic's wheelchair through a generally inaccessible town centre.
And, generally it is cheaper, which, given that my disposable income like most peoples (other than Bankers and Politicians) is increasingly being spent on keeping a roof over my head and paying the Gas Bill, is a good thing.
So it might be that the X Factor style, instant celebrity critic, still fresh from their latest TV series is not necessarily the best person to advise the Prime Minister on how to bring his big society vision to the High Street.
High Streets have been dying for years.
What is needed is not more shops and more greenfield housing developments but the repopulating of our Town Centres.
Over the years I have lived in three City Centres, Cambridge, Mass., Bradford, West Yorkshire and Genoa.
City Centre living is wonderful, energising and it is great to have your favourite department store or bookshop as your local store.
Bring people back into City Centres and the High Street will live again.
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