What's next for the high street?

[Rememory]

Just having a chat with DH about what is going to happen to our high streets in the next few years? The local towns I grew up in are sad, almost deserted places with lots of boarded up shops. Even our nearest big city appears to be struggling and not somewhere I'd travel to shop in.

Personally, I think we need to stop having the same shops in every single town and they need to have 'unusual' shops to make people come from out-with the area for a different shopping 'experience'. DH reckons they need to cover high streets so you're not getting rained on or stuck indoors and can have farmer's markets or different events in pedestrianised zones.

Anyway, these were just a few ideas we had. Anyone care to join in with their own?

You are spot on. Independent shops are the way forward. Where I live we have Totnes and Tavistock which are great. I go to either and do ALL my Xmas shopping. Get great unusual gifts. Town centres ate full of the same boring brands, with the same boring products which are and uninspiring. For general shopping I go online. Not going to boring town centres. But LOVE farmers markets. I believe in keeping the money local. I try and spend at least 30% of everything l buy from local producers. It makes such a difference.

I think perhaps town centres will be more meeting places going forward with more cafes and pubs and all of the shops will be in retail parks out of town.

Our local town has a great independent stationer, clothes shop and men's grooming shop. They all have fab instagram pages and are just a bit different from the usual. They're new and will hopefully last.

Yes, a meeting place. When I was young and we were dragged on the Saturday shop my folks ended up stopping to chat to lots of people they knew and bumped into.

We're just back from the US and went to an amazing Farmer's Market in Santa Barbara, the food was delicious. I felt the same when I visited Borough Market in London. Great food, great atmosphere.

I agree with the OPs concerns. If the high street is not just to become clone towns, we need to have business rates reformed or replaced.