The plight of retailers dominates debate about the high street (Decline of the high street gathers pace as thousands of stores close, 9 November), although I can’t imagine what “decisive action … to support the battered high street” the government is expected to provide. Certainly there’s no reverse gear to address the commercial affects of a transformation in shopping habits, and high streets will inevitably have to shrink back to a core of retail activity.
We need to look at this another way. Reviving high streets and town centres must be approached strategically and this begins with reinventing their role. We need high streets more than ever, but as places for people to meet and mingle throughout the day, not just to shop. Other uses must be mixed in: homes and live/work units, small offices and workshops, GP surgeries and dentists, barbers and hairdressers, youth clubs and day care centres, nurseries and primary schools, cinemas and music venues, cafes and pubs, street markets and pop-ups, independent and convenience shops. But not multiples of each. They need to have good transport links, free parking nearby, and become people-, bike- and buggy-friendly. In practice a degree of compulsory purchase might well be necessary to overcome the fragmented property ownership that inhibits any unified strategy.
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