Reimagining the high street By Elizabeth Cox, Josh Ryan-Collins, Paul Squires, Ruth Potts 14 September 2010 In June 2005, NEF’s Clone Town Britain report, called attention to how the increasing domination of large chain stores left our communities and high streets vulnerable to economic shocks. In March 2020, offices accounted for around 11% of all addresses on British high streets, and it’s expected this average will rise as the co-working office market has shown positive growth during periods of lower restrictions. Independent high street business can only survive if local people buy from them – seek out independents and locally sourced products. In many High Streets in many settlements, there are vacant and underutilised assets. They can do this by providing a holistic range of services aimed at anyone thinking of buying, selling, adapting, improving or managing residential property, says the firm, which providesRead More Even as we approach their gradual reopening, the latest news around our high streets remains bleak. Richmond tops the table with just 5 independent traders counted on its high street. And when combined with other new measures such as the First Homes initiative, these houses could help first time buyers afford desirable locations. Reimagining the high street: creating green spaces February 28, 2021 JW News “Local authorities need to be the captains of change and engage in this agenda.” Reimagining the High Street: a vision for sustainable, thriving places Patricia Brown, HonFRIBA January 2019. This yoyo effect is not only dizzying, it is also disorientating, disheartening and at times dire. NB. A Dialogue & Debate webinar on 'Reimagining the High Street', exploring opportunities for addressing and potentially reversing the perceived decline of UK high streets. From the climate crisis to mass extinction to acidifying oceans, we’re living through an environmental emergency. Collaging together imagery of architecture, tracking shots and a series of creative responses from participants, ‘S for Southend’ is a collective vision for reimagining the future of Southend High Street. Now, as the economic crisis plays out in the UK economy, it is clear just how vulnerable the domination of chains on our high streets has left them. New powers such as the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 provide a way for residents to take control. This could be the rebirth of independents who curate and cultivate new products, goods and services. These could range from local currency development (like Brixton £) to local food distribution and tool share/ exchange schemes. As the hub of our communities, the high street could become the place where we begin to build a more sustainable world. Of the London villages surveyed 43 per cent were clone towns, 7 per cent border towns and 50 per cent were home towns. Ultimately it is down to the consumer and we need to think differently about what we purchase. With the amount of chaos and change afflicting towns and cities around the world, the high street needs to be a place of balance. Wellbeing. No one goes online for a toffee macchiato or a pair of second-hand trousers*. The high street is facing a growing challenge from online shopping and out-of-town superstores. You might think this future high street sounds a bit middle-class – but actually, many of the best examples come from low-income areas. How long this status can be maintained remains to be seen with the opening of the largest urban area indoor shopping centre in Europe – ​‘Westfield London’ – right next door, complete with over 250 chains stores. With support schemes set to be winding down in the next few months, including rent holidays and furlough payouts, retailers are feeling the pressure and without further support will have to cut jobs, close further stores and will ultimately struggle to survive on the high street. Reimagining the high street shop for drinks retailing. for their support during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2009 a reported 17,880 retailers had shut up shop. Establish a Local Competition Ombudsman as recommended by the Competition Commission which will reign in the power of the big four grocery chains. NB. With clear communication between communities, local authorities and the private sector, new attractive spaces will be designed for communities to meet the demand for safe and social experiences. In June 2005, NEF’s Clone Town Britain report, called attention to how the increasing domination of large chain stores left our communities and high streets vulnerable to economic shocks. Although there is a worry that offices are a thing of the past, the continued success of these spaces says otherwise. From Uplifted by Isabella Kirlangitis, Eva LaGard, Samantha Van Harren. The design and build process will create jobs. And, as we face the additional challenges of climate change and peak oil, we find that the cloning of our towns and cities has created a brittle infrastructure unable to respond to these challenges. Here in the UK, stores are now in a constant cycle of reopening and then closing and then opening again. Both Mayfair and Belgravia are some of the most desirable locations to both live and work but it’s the high streets in these locations that elevate that desirability. Cambridge, with its dreaming spires and huge tourist pull, might not be expected to snatch the dubious crown of the UK’s most cloned town out of the hands of our 2005 ​‘winner’, Exeter – which in our survey has slipped to joint second place with Reading. The high street needn't die. What is this doing to our mental health? Influential Voices On The Future Of Work: Dex Hunter-Torricke Communications Expert, How Amazon Is Consuming Department Stores’ Customer Share, Listen To Your Employees If You Want To Take Care Of Them, Real Corporate Innovation Needs Board-Level Stewardship, Nonprofit Understood Shapes The World For Difference, Unicorn Founders Blake Johnson And Scott Cohen, Took No Venture Capital, Sold Byte In Two Years For Over A Billion Dollars. Property Week editor Liz Hamson and Deepa Deb of Dentons discuss ‘The reimagining of the high street’ in our latest “In conversation with…” Welcome to propertyweek.com. The transition town network is inspiring increasing numbers to take action in their community and move away from our unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels. Debenhams is just one of the many well known chains now set to potentially disappear from our high street. Local economies These offices also provide an immense trickle down effect to the rest of the high street as the lunchtime crowd has the potential to support a number of cafes, gyms, childcare centres and more. Source: Twitter AP Communities are already fighting back and the current crisis offers a huge opportunity to re-imagine our high streets. We set as our initial provocation, “Reimagining the High Street as the Lobby… In 2009, at the height of the recession, we once again took stock of the nation’s high streets. There is a growing articulation to collectively redesign Dudley High Street. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. While sales from physical stores, both in and out of town, have remained constant over the last five years, online sales have risen by 222% or £18.5bn. Just a few months into the first lockdown, there was a sharp spike in workers moving out of London and the UK’s biggest cities. Published: 13 November, 2020. In times of recession, chain stores have proven to be fair weather friends. A renewed focused on shop-front retail has led to a rash of new openings, from Manchester to Birmingham and Surrey, writes Jo Gilbert. People need to help planners create a re-invigorated community – Government; (central or local) cannot deliver this alone. So although ASOS is the go-to fashion site on the internet for multiple brands, if they wanted to, they could take over the high street … We found Britain still to be a nation of clone towns. Run (or attend) a re-imagined high street project in your community. Even as we approach their gradual reopening, the latest news around our high streets remains bleak. Currently, our high streets are just not set up to help us do this. But now an enterprising boss of a local charity has taken over two floors of the building, in the hope of reimagining the store and the local High Street. Reimagining the High Street . © NEF 2021  •  Registered charity 1055254 There was better news for Streatham Hill, improving from a border to a home town and Muswell Hill, which moved from a clone to a border town. Here we'll look at how to repurpose the high street to meet the changing demands placed upon them. City leaders hope the "reimagining" of the Renfrewshire town could attract investors and reverse the decline of the high street. Terms and conditions  •  Privacy and cookies  •  RSS. Grosvenor Britain & Ireland's striking flags with messages to say thank you to NHS and key workers ... [+] for their support during the Covid-19 pandemic. 41 per cent of the towns surveyed were clone towns, 23 per cent border towns and 36 per cent were home towns. Check all news and articles from the tech news updates.