The key to rejuvenating ailing town centres across the UK is to look beyond retail to things such as culture, entertainment and leisure, according to a new report.

For the past 13 months the Distressed Town Centre Property Taskforce (DTCPT) – which includes senior retailers, property investors, landlords and bankers – has been investigating the impact of the changes that have affected retail and property in the UK’s towns and city centres.

One of the main recommendations is that the government should designate town and city centres as key national infrastructure in order to open up new funding opportunities and that significantly greater flexibility in the planning system is needed to enable quick and easy change of use from redundant retail premises to more economically productive uses.

The retail landscape has changed completely in the last five years, thanks to the recession and the shift to online shopping has left the majority of towns with too many shops.

“Most of our town centres need to evolve urgently to meet the broader needs of the communities that they serve for the next 50 years.” said taskforce chair, Mark Williams of the Hark Group. “Waiting for normal economic growth to return is unacceptable and will result in many towns moving further into decline.”

The report said that leisure is an essential part of a town or city centre’s role but many towns have a negligible evening economy — even the food and beverage sectors.

The availability of vacant retail units will facilitate expansion into mixed-use, but the report says these need to be supported by flexible planning policies across all parts of a town centre.

The report also suggests that other leisure uses, such as cinemas, need to be encouraged in town centre locations to reinforce a leisure focus and to broaden the range of attractions.

Some town centres in the UK have already taken the initiative and are embracing the task force's stated need for change. Stockport and Rotherham both have plans for new commercial leisure schemes to incorporate a cinema and supporting bars and restaurants while Wolverhampton has introduced a Youth Zone — a two storey building with a climbing wall and a sports hall for a range of sports.

To read the full report click here.