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Can new planning rule changes save the High Street? And what are the business opportunities?
WORDS: RITCHIE CLAPSON
26
SME magazine
AT THE TURN of the 21st century, online retail arrived and removed the need for people to visit bricks-and-mortar shops. The likes of Amazon have changed the way we shop forever and there is no going back. We can now buy almost anything we want without leaving the house. This increase in online retailing means that we’re left with are redundant retail hubs in our town centres that now need to be repurposed. According to estate agents Savills, around 12.5 per cent of retail premises in the UK are vacant, with 40 per cent of empty stores lying vacant for three years or more. They predict that retail vacancy will rise to 25 per cent by
the end of the decade unless action is taken. Yet, even though the majority of high street retail units are occupied, many now house charity shops, vape stores, and the like – far from the bustling retail hubs that our high streets once were. How can we prevent further high street decline and what business opportunities will this change create? To return to thriving hubs of activity, town centres need to become leisure destinations. They need restaurants, pubs and cafes, boutiques and other specialist retailers, cinemas, theatres, sports and music venues, gift and craft stores.
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