Minister acts to speed up Portas Pilots high street revamp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/06/minister-acts-portas-pilots-revamp

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The government is hoping a national network of retail and property business leaders can speed up change on Britain's high streets.

The Future High Streets Forum will advise the 27 towns piloting ideas suggested by TV retail guru Mary Portas, in a 2011 report for the government.

It will also guide 330 town teams, which are trying to revamp high streets in the face of competition from the internet. Alex Gourlay, the chief executive of Boots, and Mark Prisk, local growth minister, will co-chair the forum, which will include representatives from John Lewis, the Association of Town & City Management and the Association of Convenience Stores.

Prisk will tell a meeting of the 27 so-called Portas Pilots in Loughborough on Thursday: "It is clear that our high streets will need to change to prosper. There is already great work being done across the country to revitalise the town centres, but it needs to spread further faster."

The new move comes as several pilot programmes have been slow to spend their £100,000 project funds while others have been hit by disagreements.