A FABULOUS town centre with great local businesses supporting each other to improve the offer of the high street — that’s how government minister Marcus Jones summed up Tavistock this week during a three day tour of the South West’s town centres.

The High Streets Minister spent Tuesday afternoon in the town meeting with shop owners and hearing how new initiatives to boost business had a marked effect on footfall.

So impressed was Mr Jones that he has encouraged Tavistock to enter the Great British High Street Competition.

But despite Tavistock helping itself to get out of the recent recession through schemes like BID (Business Improvement District), where town centre businesses pay an extra charge on their business rates to fund new ways of attracting people to the town, there were pleas to the minister for government help to keep the high street alive.

Robin Rich of I Love Candy said the single most important issue was soaring business rates which had crippled many small businesses.

Although there had been a £1,500 relief this year to support small shops, Mr Jones was asked what the Government was doing to change the antiquated system whereby business rates were worked out on the square footage of a shop and not the turnover.

He said there was a business rates’ review underway which would result in a report next year with a view to changing the system by 2017.

He said it was a complex subject that needed a thorough re-evaluation and the Government would be looking at different types of businesses individually.

The importance of working in a more collaborative way with other towns and cities up and down the country with BID programmes in place was also highlighted to the minister, who praised the initiative and the way it was working in Tavistock to promote the town.

‘Obviously my visit to Tavistock and Plymouth and all the other business communities this week is to get the view of traders and feed that back into Westminster,’ he said.

‘I am concerned with making sure that we have vibrant high streets, town centres and markets, which are worth around £600-billion a year to the UK’s economy and hugely important to the social fabric of our communities.

‘Speaking to the traders in Tavistock today, everyone seems very positive and it is certainly very vibrant.

‘A lot has been done to bring in new ideas and diversification to make people want to shop in the high street. It’s a fabulous town centre.

‘We are currently working on how we can support the digital offer of the high street, because the biggest thing affecting the high street at the moment is internet shopping.’

Mr Jones was told that many shops in Tavistock had adopted the digital age and were on social media, which again was having a positive effect.

He was told of the Totally Locally campaign, the successful marketing campaign which had resulted in 120 more coaches coming to Tavistock in a year, the introduction of the £2-a-day flat rate parking fee, the 170 free hanging baskets and ongoing maintenance of them for businesses and the impressive Christmas lights display last year.

Mr Jones said: ‘In many areas which have BID in place, it has changed the dynamics of thinking and really brought businesses together to think how town centres and high streets can be improved.

‘I am really enthused by what I see in terms of the support for local business and the great footfall that is evident here in Tavistock today.’

Manager of BID Lisa Piper said: ‘It was great to be able to showcase Tavistock to the minister whose responsibility it is to help improve the high street.

‘We were able to get the message across about the concerns we have but also tell him of the good work that is being done to boost trade.’