To think without retail we have to plan what to use our high streets for?

[omygoditsearly]

So retail has been in decline for years, covid has hastened the end of many large stores and changed habits. But we still have the physical infrastructure so what do we want to do with it?
Much retail space pave has been snapped up by property developers to build rabbit hutches but I can't see that working once a high street is gone. I suppose some could be bulldozed and consumed by urban sprawl but then many are older or protected so that would be difficult too. Does any one have any thoughts on how these spaces may be used in the future?

It’ll become housing. There’s a massive housing crisis.

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/11/is-this-the-future-for-britain-stockton-on-tees-park-high-street

Well the hope would be that some kind of fairer infrastructure for businesses comes out of it, and instead of having a bland H&M or Debenhams on every standard high street we have a bit more diversity
Though I might be dreaming

Some of the big department stores will become hotels. Jenners in Edinburgh for example

More people living in town would be great to keep centres alive, people that like to live amongst the theatres, entertainment and hospitality. And then shops that you see thriving still in any old /small town that service the local residents.

And possibly versitle office spaces for companies that have shed permenant sites but occasionally need a collaborative space or need a space for a project delivery, In town centres with good transport and hospitality close by those places could do OK.

But not social housing i bet

I'm not convinced that an online retail sector is a great thing for cities or the people in them. If there is a plan to be made I think it should include reversing this trend as much as possible.

It’s very difficult converting large purpose built retail properties into housing so you’d have to knock them down and rebuild and that is incredibly expensive.

I'd like to see more covered food markets, not just fruit and veg but meat and fish, fresh spices and herbs, plus indoor and outdoor plants, DIY shops, wool & haberdashery etc.

When I moved into my current home there were lots of these types of shop but they seem to have disappeared... 🌹

[quote rosiejaune]www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/11/is-this-the-future-for-britain-stockton-on-tees-park-high-street[/quote]
An interesting read. I'd love to see Stockton pull this off. But they need to sort out the aggressive begging and spice zombies that plague the town centre or the park would just become an unsafe white elephant

I hope that’s not the case and the high street/shopping areas don’t disappear. I hate with passion shopping online and buying garbage that doesn’t fit and has to be returned. I’ve tried it pre-covid and it was an epic fail and most frustrating. During covid, I have bought precisely zero stuff online except some second hand items/small furniture. I hate Amazon and I go out of my way to source things elsewhere.
It’d be a very sad day where we all wear the same ill-fitting, synthetic rubbish from the Kardasian labels we buy online.
I hope post-covid we’d return to the high street of yesterday but I know this is a dream.

Really interesting article about stockton thank you. The castle gate centre was where I spent most Saturdays iny teens :) (oh and Debenhams)
Really pleased to see they're planning something very bold. I hope it works.

@MercyBooth

But not social housing i bet

Why would you need social housing in the highest value area of every town and city?

Its not even like it used to be residential so there's community roots etc you'd be moving these people in.

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell those expensive plots to rich people and use the money to build many many more social housing projects in cheaper areas with more suitable employment (since retail is gone)

Housing over lots of independent cafes and interesting shops, galleries, artisan workshops

The problem with co vetting these spaces to housing is that they become residential areas as the retail aspect withers so there is less appeal to live there. Also it doesn't work well with entertainment venues, we have a pub in the high street that has been there 150 years, it's been a live music venue for 80 years with some big names appearing early in their careers. Developers converted nearby building GPS into flats, the residents complained about the noise and the music licence was withdrawn! Ok it was eventually overturned but it was a close run thing. At no time did anyone half the developer liable though, they should have been on the hook for building inappropriatly. For my part I'd like to see this space turned over to cultural/public use in some way: art installations / inspiring artist space, local club space - electronics to screen printing, informal learning groups based around 'MOOCs' for those that like to learn together. I don't know if it could work everywhere but it seems that a joined up policy across the country could really lead somewhere. I guess the economics of a post COVID post Brexit britain will dominate though.

I'd like to see them become indoor markets, full of independent retail or makers selling direct. Sort of like souks.

I'd like markets or shops selling food and other essentials. Community spaces, green spaces, playgrounds for older children and teens, not just young children, like those giant nets, flying fox and so on, covered picnic tables.

I can't see indoor markets working with the amount of space, also markets tend to be low value products which are probably better suited to online retail now.

Shops won’t go, they will just change.

Most people will still go food shopping, restaurants/bars/coffee shops will still be in demand and designer brands of all sorts (even cast iron radiators and paints (!)) like to use upmarket high streets as advertising.

We will just see the current drift speeding up.

I'd like to see them used for social space, galleries and museums. There are lots of undisplayed items in London museums and galleries and I'd like to see them in town spaces (rather than just cities). If you live outside London it's expensive to get to see this 'free' cultural resource.

There needs to be a mix of housing, 'hot desking' type office space, covered market/pop up shop or food businesses, leisure, exhibition plus maybe showrooms* and even car parking, because in a lot of cities and towns, a big barrier for people going in is high parking cost, but public transport that is also expensive and infrequent and all this does is drives people to out of town shopping centres, where they can easily park for free and come and go as they please, rather than time visits to coincide with a bus service that is hourly at best.

*Showrooms because some retail doesn't lend well to online only, so it would be useful to be able to go and actually look at physical products, ask questions etc. Some brands might find it worth their while to have a presence in busy locations, especially if people can actually get there easily and cheaply to look at their products, even if they have to order them for them to be delivered to their homes.

Personally, I'm hoping that we'll finally get a Uniqlo in Leeds as surely they'll now want to move into the empty Top Shop, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, or one of the many other shops that are now empty.

I hope they do not disappear altogether because while I under normal circumstances do not go shopping in town every week or every few weeks even. I do prefer to actually browse in actual shops when I do. I am fed up with buying stuff online only.

Stockton’s plan is bold and I hope they pull it off, but previous pp is right they need a plan to deal with beggars & antisocial behaviour.

@Happynow001

I'd like to see more covered food markets, not just fruit and veg but meat and fish, fresh spices and herbs, plus indoor and outdoor plants, DIY shops, wool & haberdashery etc.

When I moved into my current home there were lots of these types of shop but they seem to have disappeared... 🌹

We had one of these. It's now a Primark.