Charity shops could be a perfect way to recycle in the 21st century, but local authorities need to wake up and stop sleep walking.
The challenge today for central and local governments is the same as when I, with a team of eight professionals, wrote and published The Grimsey Review in 2013. Local plans are required that will turn our high streets into community hubs,where people can find health, education, entertainment, arts, crafts, leisure - and some shops, including charity shops. These 21st-century high streets will embrace technology and free wifi in our towns will be common in 10 years’ time.
Charity shops should be there for the local community and support local charities, to ensure the revenue they generate stays in the local economy.
When I was a lad growing up in the 1950s and 1960s high streets boomed in the post-war environment. This was the start of the consumer rush. With demand for shop space at a premium, there was no place for charity shops in the high street.
But charity shops did exist back then; they werecalled the jumble sale. These were an opportunity for people to feel good about themselves and “recycle” unwanted clothes, toys, books and so on, which were bought by people on a budget. Everyone was a winner!
As with high street retailing the recycling market has undergone dramatic change in the past 50 years and top of that sector today is the high street charity shop. Cubs and Brownies still have jumble sales and the car boot sale also does well but the monster in the pack is the charity shop.
Is this a good or bad thing? One point often missed is that the economics behind the charity shop is now big business for national charities.
National chains like Oxfam are high street retail chains, subsidised by local government through business rate rebates. Landlords often winas well, by supporting the value of their unwanted space with rents propped up by the business rate rebate.
These national chains are run by highly-paid chief executives and have a costly organisation structure. Unlike the old-fashioned jumble sales, where almost all the revenue went to local good causes, charity shops have seen growing questions about their overheads and claims that in some cases barely half their revenue stream goes to a good cause.
The way some high streets have evolved is unacceptable. Some now look like charity shop row. Penzance has a high street that is in severe decay, propped up by charity shops in double figures.
To make today’s high streets work for everyone, the starting point should be a clear plan. The starting point is to have a plan. There are examples of local authorities taking the initiative to do this but many more towns need to wake up. As the Demos report, published on 11 September, shows, charity shops can be good for the local community and local economy.
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