High Streets Task Force now open for business

The High Streets Task Force – an alliance of place-making experts, including Design Council – is now open for business.

The consortium provides encouragement, tools and skills to help communities and local government to transform their high streets. Design Council will help stakeholders think innovatively about the future of their high streets, and share our wide-ranging design expertise including healthy placemaking, inclusion, service and urban design, as well as social and environmental sustainability.

To mark its launch, the High Streets Task Force has rolled out a range of free resources to help high streets across England respond to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and reopen safely on 15 June. This initial package of tools, training, information and advice forms just one part of the Task Force’s four-year programme, focusing on the long-term transformation of town and city centres and helping communities reimagine and revitalise their high streets.

"We have extensive resources focused on making town centres more vital and viable and many ways to help towns respond to COVID-19. All of these are available free," explains Executive Director of the Task Force, Simon Quin. “Our website has far more content than you may have seen in the past. We now have online training open to everyone. We welcome those new to the Task Force and encourage you to explore the site and our other resources. Thanks are due to all our Task Force partners and MHCLG for making this support available.”

 

The need for us to redefine our high streets and reimagine their possibilities is more pressing than ever, particularly given the challenges presented by the coronavirus crisis. We at Design Council look forward to bringing people together, hearing their views, and working with them to create healthy and sustainable places that are more equal and fit for the future. Gyorgyi Galik, Lead Programme Manager, Design Council

To find out more about the High Street Task force about the resources available go to www.highstreetstaskforce.org.uk