Putting the buzz back into our high streets

摘要

It has been more than a decade since the 'decline of the high street' entered the public consciousness. We all know what this decline looks like: To Let signs, closing-down sales, ageing facades, and a proliferation of charity shops. We can make generalisations about the causes of decline, too: public sector investment pull-back, the consolidation of private sector investment to cities, and the success of online retail.The CO VID-19 pandemic hastened many of these trends. Bricks and mortar retail, just about hanging on pre-pandemic, has finally thrown in the towel; Thornton's, Top Shop and Debenhams just some of the high-profile names impacted.There is hope, however, that we are just about to enter a period of real transformation for UK high streets and town centres. The thinking behind this transformation started long before the pandemic, but the overarching strategies remain sound and for those councils who have been successful in their application for central Government funding, high streets and town centres will start to look remarkably different.Much of this transformation is about mobilising the spending power of locals who would otherwise spend their money elsewhere, tapping into the visitor economy, and reversing de-population trends by creating places that are liveable and desirable. Mott MacDonald has been advising dozens of local authorities in their applications for funding from local government, and has witnessed first hand the transformative effect it can have on communities.The majority of town centre and high street regeneration projects are being underpinned by an anchor project: a new theatre, a leisure centre or a concert venue, for example. These larger construction projects require significant upfront investment, which is why Government funding has been crucial in getting many of them off the ground. Although these projects have the potential to generate revenue through direct employment, their success is contingent on not being built in isolation.