A review on how Covid measures impacted high streets is pointless – they were already in decline

Lord, save us. Instead of wasting time and money poring over something we already know to be true, let’s take action on saving our towns now, says Chris Blackhurst

In the case of our towns and city centres, we’re talking about steps that should have been taken years ago (Getty/iStock)

Ahead of exams at school and university, it was tempting to draw up a revision plan. I’d sit down and map out a timetable, listing the subjects and the hours to be devoted to them. Then, I’d mark them up in different colours. If I didn’t like the look of it, I’d start again.

What I was not doing, of course, was revising – that was being put off. When it came to poring over my books, precious time had been lost.

Something similar is happening with our high streets. This week saw the publication of a report by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee, calling for a full “lessons learned” review to be conducted ahead of the independent Covid-19 inquiry assessing the government's handling of the pandemic. MPs said the review should examine what impact Covid measures set by the government have had on the high street.