• Labour council candidate Michael Moran writes to the town’s businesses 
• Town centre plan covers parking, incentives for businesses, a role for volunteers, action to ensure developers’ support schemes and an injection of funding

Rugby Labour Party council candidate Michael Moran, has today launched a campaign to listen to the town centre’s businesses and the wider community and get them behind the party’s Four Point Plan for Revival. 

The Rugby-based businessman and community activist, who is standing for the party in Admirals and Cawston ward, has 20 years of experience in asset management and development, during which he has advised some of the UK’s biggest pension funds and retail chains. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of a property company delivering the largest private sector town centre regeneration scheme in the country in Luton town centre, delivering a new stadium for Luton Town FC, 1,200 homes, bars, restaurants, and other community facilities. 

“I’ve lived in Rugby for 23 years and became frustrated by seeing Rugby’s town centre being allowed to decline”, said Moran. He continued: “I don’t think the Conservatives appreciate the level of harm that exists and that real action is needed now. I decided to put my professional experience to good use and do something about it, beginning with reaching out to the town’s businesses. This isn’t about pretending the internet hasn’t had a huge impact, but engaging with business people to understand the risks to the livelihoods and mental health of literally hundreds of people.”

Mr Moran has written a letter to all town centre business-owners that both sets out Rugby Labour’s Four-Point Revival Plan for the town centre and asks readers to share their experience, ideas and suggestions to the party as it develops its practical plans for the town. 

The Four-Point Revival Plan set out in the letter covers:

• First three hours of free parking: replacing what is a blunt tax on businesses with a system whereby the first three hours are free, marshalled by a 21^st century Automatic Number Plate Recognition system that is commonplace across car parks and town centres. 
• A marketing plan with incentives for businesses: this would identify empty units and what types of businesses and occupiers are missing from the town centre. Owners of empty units would be engaged with and a deal done with them for significantly reduced rents in return for their premises being included in the plan. We would also offer a complete discount of first year commercial rates for qualifying occupiers on completion of a binding legal agreement that commits the company to the town centre such that the discount of one year’s rates is at least covered by rates income in future years. Current businesses would receive a 50% discount on next year’s rates in return for a signed commitment to the town centre. These incentive schemes are adopted by shopping centre owners nationally, so why not in Rugby?

• Volunteers for the town to bring back civic pride: the town’s community love their town, yet the volunteer base is all too often untapped. A volunteer scheme would see people complimenting the work of our rangers, or coordinating local schools and dance companies to put on shows in front of the Clock Tower – together we can renew a sense of pride in Rugby that has become so lost under the Conservatives.
• Sensible funding for renewal: ambitious plans require sustainable funding and the Conservatives have failed here. The Borough Council has substantial reserves and Labour could invest some of this legitimately in the town centre revival over the long-term. The Tory council should do a much better job at negotiating Section 106 agreements with developers of local housing schemes and commercial warehouses in the Borough to invest in schemes to enhance the town centre. With a Conservative Borough Council, County Council, MP and national government, Rugby should have done well out of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund or the £2.4 billion Towns Fund, yet in the latter alone, 101 towns received grants and Rugby wasn’t even on the list. 

Commenting on the campaign, Michael Moran said: 

“At Rugby Labour we believe the town centre is staring into an abyss and a clear, concerted action plan is required immediately. These are only our views though. We believe in leading, and so we have developed a Four-Point Revival Plan, but more importantly we believe in listening. That’s what my letter, and our outreach as a local party will now do. We want to hear the views of the people who work in the town centre, run businesses there, are landlords, shop or enjoy spending time there. 

“We’re very confident that the people of Rugby are as frustrated as we are at the many years of Tory neglect for our wonderful town centre. It’s time to stop the rot, and through our campaign of engagement, we believe we can galvanise the community behind creating a more prosperous local economy, a more interesting and exciting civic space and a community that feels involved in and proud of their town centre.” 

Leader of the Labour Group on Rugby Borough Council, Cllr Maggie O’Rourke said:

“We’re fortunate in Rugby Labour that our candidates come from a diverse range of backgrounds ranging across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Michael Moran brings decades of business experience around managing property and other assets, and so he’s ideally placed to lead our work to develop pragmatic, yet bold policy ideas that can have a positive impact on our town centre and halt the decline that we can all see around us that is the result of 12 years of Tory mis-rule nationally, aided and abetted by their colleagues on councils such as Rugby Borough Council. 

“The people of our town deserve better, and if more Labour candidates are elected as councillors on 5 May, we can start to make the positive change that is necessary. I encourage people to cast their vote for Labour, and if they haven’t made their mind up yet, take a look at our fully-costed local manifesto on our website.”