Planning our town centres

The BBC is reporting on plans by Waltham Forest Council, in north east London, to tighten its planning rules to limit the number of fast food outlets near schools or places heavily frequented by children.

The report proves again that tougher planning rules to protect town centres are entirely achievable and desperately needed in Putney High Street. In Waltham Forest the problem appears to be too many fast food "restaurants"; in Putney its coffee shops, mobile phone shops, gambling premises and what the Americans call "Dime Stores".

A cohesive plan for Putney is what the Putney Society has been calling for and it is one of the essentials of my SOS plan to Save Our High Street. It goes hand-in-hand with ideas like shop-front improvements, to introduce a cohesive character to the town centre and longer term suggestions like relocating the Chelverton Road bus garage away from the High Street and replacing the ugly concrete building that currently houses Woolworths, Halfords and Superdrug.

The Council's Local Development Plan is currently being reviewed and this is an ideal opportunity to draw a line under past disagreements and work together to draw up a strong, clear and radical plan that safeguards local shops, improves the environment for shoppers and other pedestrians and makes the High Street the attractive heart of Putney it should be.

You can read more about my ideas for Putney High Street and give me your own views here.