CPTED-UK co-founder Richard Stones appointed expert advisor to High Streets Task Force

The High Streets Task Force was commissioned by the Government last yearas part of its plan for the High Street and in response to the recommendations of an expert panel on High Street issued chaired by the highly successful entrepreneur Sir John Timpson.

In essence, the Task Force has been established in order to strengthen local leadership in High Streets and town centres in England. It does this by providing information, advice, training, knowledge and data, in turn helping people to make a positive difference to their local communities.

High Streets Task Force subject experts advise on a range of issues, including planning, urban design, placemaking, landscape architecture, resilience, transport, valuation, asset management, investment, governance, data and analytics, place management and also leadership.

Those experts are experienced and respected professionals at member or Fellow level of their respective professional body or, in the case of the Design Council, built environment experts. Stones is a Fellow of The Security Institute, a Chartered Security Professional and also a built environment expert.

Run by the Institute of Place Management on behalf of Government, the High Streets Task Force brings together a range of expert organisations focused on reinventing and restructuring places. The website (to be found at www.highstreetstaskforce.co.uk) hosts a wide range of training, learning and data insights, including the COVID-19 Recovery Framework to help places identify what they need to do now, as well as how to plan and build capacity for recovery.

Key crime prevention role

Stones is an internationally recognised expert on security and crime prevention. He has advised on several EU and Home Office-funded projects. In terms of the Task Force, his role will be to advise the local planning authorities and business groups on how to prevent crime before it occurs by consulting on new and existing developments.

Stones observed: “It’s an honour to be invited to consult on this Task Force and to play a positive role in the future of our towns and cities. To do this effectively, you really need to understand how the built environment affects place management and consider the opportunities current and future urban spaces afford to criminals as well as the inherent challenges this poses to security. Basic examples include how the built environment and street lighting affect CCTV coverage and the movement of people in the night-time economy. Considering those factors at an early stage can avoid problems in the future.”

Asked about the future of the High Street post-COVID, Stones added: “The reality is that our High Streets will look very different in ten-to- 15 years’ time. Every town and city has been experiencing a decline in footfall which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. That means there will likely be fewer shops in the future and we’ll see more mixed living, an aspiration being the 15-minute city where everything is on hand from work to entertainment. Such changes will inevitably alter the crime profile of our cities and town centres.”

He continued: “Our challenge is to think about those changes and look to mitigate the potential impact they will have on crime within communities. By applying CPTED methodology, we can make our towns and cities better places to live in, to visit and to work in.”