Restaurants, leisure activities and public services must be prioritised over retail stores to reverse the fortunes of town centres, says a new Manchester Met-backed House of Lords report.
The report, High Streets: Life Beyond Retail?, was published today (28th November) on the eve of retail event Black Friday by the cross-party House of Lords Built Environment Committee, to which Senior Lecturer Dr Lucy Montague was appointed earlier this year as Special Advisor.
Dr Montague played a crucial advisory role in the Committee’s inquiry into how high streets in towns and small cities can be regenerated and become more resilient and attractive.
Its report concluded that retail’s dominance on high streets is a thing of the past, with a greater demand and opportunity now existing for restaurants, leisure activities, and services such as health centres and libraries.
While acknowledging that shopping will remain a key feature of high streets, the report warns against a ‘fixed vision and monolithic approach to their future’, urging local authorities, communities and businesses to work together to shape high streets that reflect local conditions and are adaptable and resilient.
Other recommendations include safe access to town centres by car and sufficient parking, better public transport networks, more green spaces, and a focus on cafes, restaurants and charity shops to fill empty retail units.
Dr Montague, senior lecturer at the University’s Manchester School of Architecture, has been providing specialist expertise, recommending witnesses to give evidence, and advising on the production of the final report, to which the government will be required to respond.
Dr Montague said: “It was an honour to advise the committee throughout their important work on this matter and to be able to put the findings of our high streets research to such direct and important use.
“With the recent change of government, the committee’s report comes at a pivotal moment in high streets policy. Labour has very considerable ambitions in this area, including a full review of the business rates system, alongside rolling out some of the previous government’s commitments, such as the high streets rental auctions – the pilots for which were announced last week.”
In 2023 there were over 10,000 store closures across UK high streets. Dr Montague and her colleagues published the findings of their extensive three-year study of 100 high streets which highlighted issues and solutions for the regeneration of town centres.
Co-authored by Dr Montague alongside Visiting Professor of Urbanism David Rudlin and Associate at Jas Bhalla Works Vicky Payne, the research recommended, among other solutions, the relocation of services like local councils and leisure facilities to town centres.