Instead of Eric Pickles encouraging councils to dispose of their assets in a public sector fire sale new research from APSE and CLES suggests that local council assets could be the key to reinvigorating failing high street in our town centres. As the retail sector fails to drive regeneration of our high streets this reports shows the value that local authority assets can bring to the High Street though there use as community hubs, leisure facilities, civic centres and town halls. The research also highlights the spend of council employees in local economies as a welcome boost to local traders. It is further proof that the public and private economies are intrinsically linked and you can’t have a buoyant private sector if you take away the steadying anchor of the public sector;
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/14/council-owned-premises-key-regeneration
Anna Rose
