Ten Birmingham town centre managers recruited to transform ailing shopping districts are to lose their jobs, prompting fears for the future of suburban high streets.
The managers are being axed despite a Commons Select Committee being told this week there was an urgent need to revive the “golden era” of the high street and fight the rise of retail parks.
The town centre managers were paid for with cash from the £118 million Working Neighbourhoods Fund, which has been scrapped by the Government.
The managers, paid between £30,000 and £35,000 a year, were on two-year contracts and were tasked with developing commerce and growth in areas such as Kings Heath and Moseley, Acocks Green, Harborne and Sutton Coldfield.
They have been responsible for launching campaigns, such as Shop Local, to attract more shoppers to local high streets.
The funding for their roles will end in April and comes at a time when retailers are battling with last month’s VAT rise to 20 per cent and huge increases in the number of vacant retail units.
A survey published last week by the Local Data Company highlighted how the number of empty shops in Birmingham city centre rose 7.3 per cent last year to 25.2 per cent.
In Sutton Coldfield the 2010 figure stood at 16.6 per cent, in Kings Heath it was 12.3 per cent, Acocks Green had a vacancy rate of 6.9 per cent and in Moseley it was 5.1 per cent.
While smaller high street traders continue to face an uphill struggle for survival, the fortunes of the city centre appear to be brighter with John Lewis this week announcing it will build a flagship store in the redevelopment of New Street Station.
The development is the first major department store to open in the city since the recession and will ultimately create 1,000 jobs.
Mark Eftichou, chairman of Moseley Business Association and an employee at Moseley Travel in Alcester Road, described the abolition of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund as a “big blow” to small business.
He praised Nikki Carr, the town centre manager for Kings Heath and Moseley, for her work.
“We’ve been working very closely with our town centre manager,” he said. “Nikki played a very important role in reviving the business association, accessing retail grants and pushing our plans for a Business Improvement District.
"Thanks to her the business association has gone from ad hoc to something a lot more structured. I worry that without her we’ll lose that momentum.
“It would be very disappointing to see her go just as she’s getting her feet under the table. It’s a big blow.”
Ms Carr’s position is considered so valuable that money is being freed up by the Kings Heath Business Improvement District to keep her employed so she can continue to support businesses in Kings Heath.
Stan Hems, chairman of Kings Heath Business Association and owner of Johnstans Butchers in High Street, said: “We are obtaining her on a self-employed basis.
“The Shop Local campaign she led was brilliant, the Buy Local branded bags were brilliant, she’s done a shopper’s footfall survey and a gift voucher scheme which was also a great success.
“She’s been absolutely brilliant.”
A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: “The 10 town centre managers are funded through Government WNF funding, which ceases in April 2011.
“Supporting individual town centres remains a high priority for the city council and we are currently exploring alternative methods for continuing to deliver this support direct to these areas of the city.”
Dozens of shops sit empty and boarded up in Pershore Road, Stirchley, but there has still been huge support for Matthew Powell, town centre manager for Selly Oak, Cotteridge and Stirchley.
