POSSIBLE HOPE FOR STOCKTON HIGH STREET

Speaking after the debate (Town Centres fit for the future) on the future of High Streets at the York Liberal Democrat conference, Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said

"There can be no doubt that our high streets are in crisis; More and more individuals switch to online retail, businesses are struggling and thousands of jobs are being lost. But while Brexit bears some of the blame, the roots of this crisis run far deeper, from the rise of online retail to the burden of business rates and local planning failures."

He went on to say that the policy just agreed by the conference, which included scrapping the hated business rates system, was so important to allow town centres to be truly back in local control. He added that Lib Dem policies allowing local areas to reform their planning rules, support local entrepreneurs and help retailers adapt to the digital economy would be part of bringing back life into our High Streets.