A RETAIL expert has told council bosses and business owners that high streets like Worcester and Malvern’s needed to ‘be brave and move with the times’ to survive.
Speaking at a Retail Seminar hosted by Wychavon District Council, Jackie Sadek, Chief Executive of UK Regeneration, said in addition to shops, the modern day high street should encompass elements of leisure, health, education and anything else that would bring people in.
High streets, she said, needed to find their place in the 21st century.
At last Friday’s event, there were representatives from South Worcestershire councils, including Wychavon, Malvern Hills District and Worcester City.
They joined a panel of experts to come up with a policy that would help high streets deal with changing consumer habits.
An insight was also given into the Government’s £675million Future High Streets funding pot which will helps areas adapt to change.
Ms Sadek said: “The tectonic plates of retail are shifting and the future of our town centres will not be retail alone but a mix of uses.
“It’s about experiences, because experiences can’t be bought online.
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
“We have to be brave in this new world.”
Ms Sadek was part of the team which produced the Grimsey Reviews – two landmark reports which promoted a radical new blueprint for high streets.
Matthew Hopkinson – another author of the reports and founder of data company Didobi – said there were just too many shops across the UK and, despite falling demand, 6.5million sq ft of new retail space had been created in the last five years.
He urged councils to look at the role high streets played in both providing somewhere to attract the younger generations while tackling social isolation among a rapidly ageing population.
Worcester City Council leader Coun Marc Bayliss said: “Worcester has traversed the travails of the high street well, and recent figures have shown we saw a rise in footfall while numbers for most other cities have dropped off.
“This seminar was a useful forum for discussing the challenges of the future as the high street continues to change.
“We will continue to work with our partners to prepare, and we are already making good progress on our City Centre Masterplan.”
Coun David Chambers, leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said: “When we consult with residents of all ages we hear the concerns about their high streets.
“They are passionate about them, as are we, and this event will help inform our thinking about how we can further support them to adapt so they remain successful in the future.”
