The Charity Retail Association is planning to write to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to offer its input into a new project from his department that involves training planners and other local authority officials to improve their high streets and town centres.

According to Pickles, the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has this month launched a new programme whereby dedicated teams of local experts are training and mentoring town centre leaders on how to adapt their high streets to changing consumer behaviour.

The training is to be targeted at the leaders of every town team across the country and will encourage them to carry out ‘high street health checks’ and agree what the town centre “offer” will be to residents and visitors.

Trainers will also explain how to make best use of planning powers and new community rights to take over closed pubs or shops, and will outline how neighbourhood planning powers should be used to decide what local areas should look like in future.

In response, a spokesman for the Charity Retail Association said it would be writing to Pickles about the project. He said: “The recent government plans to support local high streets are welcomed by us.  We will be writing to the Secretary of State to ask whether the Charity Retail Association can offer any assistance in the initiative, given the experience and wealth of knowledge in the charity retail sector.”

The charity shops sector has come under increasing pressure in recent years, with the Portas Review recommending a cap on the numbers of charity shops on high streets, the Welsh government consulting on cutting rate relief for charity shops, and Rochdale MP Simon Danckzuk stating that small private high street businesses should not be “subsidising” charities.

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