The decline of the high street in the wake of the out-of-town supermarket, Clone Town Britain, these are things we were hearing about long before the global economic downturn took hold and these are issues that we, as developers, take incredibly seriously. We need to promote a long-term solution to retail decline, the erosion of communities and the isolation of people through supermarket and online shopping. The link between successful communities and good quality retail areas is obvious; a thriving high street plays a huge role in generating genuine interaction with your neighbours.
So it was with a wry smile and a disbelieving shake of the head that we read the story about North Tyneside Council ‘reviving’ its high street with flat-pack shop fronts:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8548069.stm
Talk about literally sticking a plaster over the problem! It seems both absurd and desperate. During our slow progress towards recovery it’d be great to see far more inventive interim uses for empty units. Perhaps something we can all think more carefully about.