Portsmouth City Centre: Research shows residents want diversity and variety in order to boost ailing Commercial Road

With shops such as Debenhams closing, and the pandemic tightening its grip on the finances of other high street chains, fears have been raised about the state of Portsmouth’s Commercial Road and its future.

One firm has been looking at the ways Portsmouth city centre can stay attractive.

Daniel Curtis, from law firm Blake Morgan, which is based at Lakeside North Harbour, said his firm has been researching how the centre should adapt.

He said: ‘Covid-19 has rapidly accelerated a series of identity crises throughout cities in Britain, and Portsmouth and neighbouring cities across the south coast have not proved immune.

‘While the growth of online retail has been an existential issue for retailers for some time – made all the more tangible by moves from ASOS and Boohoo to acquire Topshop and Debenhams respectively – recent restrictions and lockdowns have led to more of us wondering how city centres can remain relevant post-Covid.

‘How we get to grips with these issues and create spaces people want to visit is the central question examined by Re-imagining tomorrow’s city centre, a piece of research by Blake Morgan and the Southern Policy Centre.

‘Over the course of nine months, we spoke to residents and businesses from Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth, and Poole to explore how they use their city centres and how they want them to adapt.

‘What was immediately clear to us through the research was the importance of the city centre hasn’t been diminished because of the pandemic, but they do need to change.

‘To do this, residents and businesses wanted councils to embrace diversity and variety, offering spaces to smaller businesses and retailers to break up ‘identikit’ town centres and encourage competition.

‘This also meant recognising each south coast city has its own personality too.

‘One Portsmouth resident pointed out that Portsmouth is “an entrepreneurial city” and the city centre needed to reflect this.

‘Curation was a strong theme in our research too. While our shopping habitats are changing, our social habits aren’t and – post pandemic – residents and businesses wanted to see city centres become spaces in which to spend more time, not just shop.

SEE ALSO: 11 lost Portsmouth Commercial Road shops and what has replaced them

‘Provision of green spaces, more pedestrianisation and more transport options were all cited as ways to improve city centres.

‘Recognition that city centre development was about dialogue came across strongly too.

‘We all have a stake in our city centres, and residents across Portsmouth wanted conversations about future development and regeneration to be two-way.

‘For those interviewed, a public meeting and a letter through the door isn’t good enough, dialogue has to meaningful and inclusive – Portsmouth City Council’s consultation on the future of Cascades and Commercial Road was highlighted as the right way to engage communities.

‘And communities are willing to pay more for better development. Our research found that 75 per cent of residents would pay more tax if it meant a better city centre.

‘They also wanted local authorities to be more empowered to deliver for residents with 99 per cent of those asked wanting authorities to have more power over local decisions – from tax to development planning.

‘These are positive findings and show residents are willing to trust local authorities to make the right decisions for them and their cities.

‘Three lockdowns in 12 months have without doubt posed a great many challenges for the region, but through clear communication and carefully considered curation, we can leverage what makes our cities special and re-invigorate city centres post-Covid.’