LB First: Time to put the strategy into action

You may have heard recently that out of all the large food retailers, Tesco and M&S Food did particularly well over the Christmas period, with both seeing an increase in sales on last Christmas. With the Leighton Buzzard M&S Food store having one of its busiest years, it was no surprise to hear that our town has been included in a list of 500 towns in the UK where M&S want to expand and grow their business.

Our town certainly has a good choice and fair share of supermarkets, with possibly more to come in the future, but make no mistake M&S would have done its homework with in depth research and analysis before making a decision on where to invest for future growth, based on all sorts of data such as size and population, demographics, percentage of homeowners, disposable incomes etc. It's worth bearing in mind that where M&S go others follow, there are other brands and businesses who have a similar customer profile, who will therefore be looking at our town with interest too.

Whilst this positive and exciting news is extremely welcome, the challenge is how to turn this once in a lifetime opportunity into reality so that the town centre can benefit and prosper. Now is the time for all of our elected councillors to come together and ask Central Beds Council’s assets team and planning team to positively and constructively engage with M&S to find out their needs and requirements and see how the Land South of the High Street could be utilised to accommodate them as part of redevelopment of that land.

With a good design and M&S as the main anchor store this could increase the value of the land significantly and attract inward investment, acting as a catalyst which could unlock further potential in our town centre.

The Central Beds strategic plan 2024-2027 sets out CBC’S vision and priorities for creating thriving communities and a strong local economy which directly supports the ambition for vibrant and prosperous High Streets and town centres, identifying 4 key priorities of economic growth, sustainability, climate action, thriving communities and infrastructure and connectivity, underpinning regeneration efforts and ensuring that town centres remain central to community life. Time to put the strategy into action.

For more information contact Gennaro on 01525 854273 and LB First Facebook page.