How to save the high street

[Bonzo77]

That's my point. Evolution doesn't mean clinging onto the past.

 

No real need for offices to be located in city centres, it just makes parking and getting to work more difficult than it should be.

 

I agree with the office part. Although, it was nice being able to finish work and go for a pint or do some shopping.

 

I think city centres should be filled with things that you can't necessarily get anywhere else. The old forum shopping centre was fantastic.

[Cyclone]

But too niche to survive.

[ab6262]

You say that like you blame people for buying things at the best price they can find.

Why would I go and buy something on the high street if I know I can order it cheaper for delivery online.

 

I buy clothes and food in person, and that's pretty much about it. And I only buy the food in person after finding online delivery to be very hit and miss.

 

no i dont blame people for that i do it myself its just how the retail business is evolving.

 

 

 

2 hr limited with no return within 2 hrs.

 

which is ok if 2 hours is enough?? it is more than enough for me i hate shopping

 

But the council don't own the majority of parking in the city centre and can't dictate to the private car parks what to charge.

 

 

i very much doubt private car park operators would give free parking unless it was subsidised by the business on the high st? that could work to some extent but would need everyone involved.

---------- Post added 18-12-2014 at 11:54 ----------

 

 

That's my point. Evolution doesn't mean clinging onto the past.

 

No real need for offices to be located in city centres, it just makes parking and getting to work more difficult than it should be.

 

agreed! offices would be far better on outskirt locations but with good transport links, like london docklands.

Edited December 18, 2014 by ab6262

[L00b]

alchresearch made a good point about competition from out-of-town and e-commerce insofar as shopping is concerned, but beyond this, I don't believe it's a good time for this debate, as the country is still only just emerging from a very severe economical crisis and most people who went through it and had their family budgets savaged are still exercising over-caution, and likely will for a while yet.

 

All the suggestions for city centre redevelopment as a more leisure-oriented than shopping-oriented destination are sound...but these activities rely mostly on discretionary spending, and I think that's still an issue now and for the foreseeable future (for a few years at least).

 

In the French city I'm from, they've had an underground Meadowhall-like with underground car parking on 3 storeys (1200 parking spots) since 1976, right at the heart of the city, and for the last decade and a half at least, surrounded by retail-only pedestrian streets. Lots of mid-to-high quality indies in very varied sectors (clothing, pharmacy, jewellery, interiors, electronics, <etc.>), a few strong anchors (big FNAC, big CASA, sizeable Auchan supermarket). That place was the beating retail heart of the city for nearly all of that time (annual footfall of 13 millions).

 

The relatively recent development of giant out-of-town retail parks right next to the motorway and e-commerce impacted it a bit, barely enough to notice (FNAC's departure was down to e-commerce and Amazon, as what FNAC does best is music/books/small electronics). The recession has just about killed it in the last 3 years, though: the boarded-up to still trading ratio for the units is 2 to 3. There is an on-going rejuvenation project (allegedly, not been in a while and seen it yet), but so far it smacks of vapourware à la Sevenstone

 

I'm confident the high street will bounce back, one way or another, once there is enough money floating around in the local economy. It always does.

Edited December 18, 2014 by L00b