In recent years, the UK High Street has had its fair share of ‘bad press’ and indeed poor fortune, with the declining health of our country’s urban centres being thoroughly documented and commented on in the mainstream media.
Much has been published about the disappearance of much-loved heritage retail brands and the alarming increase in vacancy rates in the wake of the online shopping revolution.
In essence, the story of the UK High Streets decline has two main strands: it is as much a protracted saga of slow, somewhat predictable changes in demographics, lifestyles, and consumer needs over many decades as it is a whirlwind tale of a sudden and unanticipated technological revolution in conjunction with a once-in-a-century global pandemic.
This narrative has redrawn the landscape of physical retail and forever changed how we conceive of our town centres and how they serve their local communities in the third decade of the 21st century.
However, change always goes hand in hand with opportunity, and all is by no means lost for the UK’s High Streets. There are glimmers of hope all around us, as ever more brands, developers, landlords, local agents, entrepreneurs and specialists are creating innovative approaches, adapting their plans and driving the evolution of the High Street to bring the public flooding back to our nation’s town centres. Here, we showcase some of these visionaries and their work.
In our Revitalising the High Street Campaign, we talk to those working on the front line of urban regeneration to explore in detail the changes that the High Street has endured in recent years, the challenges those involved have faced, and the novel ways that they have gone about overcoming these obstacles to breathe fresh life into these unique, and uniquely important, human-made environments.
For some, the secret to success has been to leverage the respective town or city’s heritage, a form of cultural capital whose value has remained high throughout challenging times: historically significant and aesthetically pleasing architecture used to serve the needs of the local community in the here and now.
For others, it’s about fundamentally rethinking the entire raison d’etre of our urban centres to offer a fresh, surprising and indeed exciting perspective on what our High Streets could become, with just a little daring and vision: vibrant social hubs where the boundaries between commercial and residential use become blurred; where people can upskill together as a community to meet the challenges of the future; and where both the housing crisis and the impact of climate change are addressed by radically repurposing the nation’s vacant retail spaces.
Throughout this campaign, we give insight into how we can save the UK’s High Streets and inspire others to aid their survival. Although their solutions differ, the industry voices we have brought together in this report identify many of the same problems.
The information provided in this article is provided for general information purposes only, and does not provide definitive advice. It does not amount to legal or other professional advice and so you should not rely on any information contained here as if it were such advice.
Wright Hassall does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on any information published here. Definitive advice can only be given with full knowledge of all relevant facts. If you need such advice please contact a member of our professional staff.
The information published across our Knowledge Base is correct at the time of going to press.
