I lived in a northern Canadian town in the 1990s when the mayor brought in the ‘big box’ stores, and downtown merchants who had been the ones to support local sports clubs and community activities experienced a big hit in their revenues. People pointed out that the big box revenues went out of the community, but for at least some people, lower prices were more important.

I thought about this when I read about the “Preston model” which has helped rebuild the economy of that Lancashire city since 2011, when a huge proposed mall fell through. So Preston decided to turn instead to its public sector and encourage them to spend their money and create jobs locally. It was a strategy much like one adopted in Cleveland, Ohio, in the USA.

The Preston mall was going to cost $700 million and be built by two of the UK’s largest developers – until the banking crash brought investment to a halt and eventually, led one of the huge anchor stores to pull out. The mall no longer made economic sense, and so in 2011, the Preston council pulled the plug – and dramatically changed its investment strategy.