Town Centre Managers rise up to riots

Published:  09 August, 2011

The Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) has issued the following statement:

The overnight rioting in London has caused significant damage both to the fabric of our town centres and, more importantly in the long run, their reputation as safe, welcoming environments.

The ATCM has over 40 members in London representing over 100 retail destinations in the capital, almost all of which have not been affected by the recent troubles. However, ATCM has offered its network to the Police to help identify offenders.   

Centre Management is a co-ordinated pro-active initiative designed to ensure that our town and city centres are desirable and attractive places at all times of the day. In nearly all instances the initiative is a partnership between the public and private sectors and brings together a wide-range of key interests.  In this case Town Centre Managers are now in regular contact with Police in various locations, building on an existing long standing relationship.  With such a wide range of contacts across the network we will get pictures of offenders to thousands of business across the capital.

The real victims of this criminality are those people struggling to keep a business afloat and trying to do an honest days work.  Livelihoods are being lost and with it jobs.

Towns and city centres also act as a focal point for government and public administration, hubs of regional infrastructure and natural locations for trade and commerce – it is therefore difficult to overstate their importance. In a very real sense, they are everyone’s neighbourhood and their management is central to the prosperity and well-being of whole communities as they are the main drivers of the sub-regional and local economy.

ATCM will be bringing forward plans to rebuild the reputation of London and its diverse centres for both the day time and night time economies.  This tarnishing on London’s reputation around the world must be reversed.