Up and down the country, some of our most prestigious retail locations are being allowed to rot. But high-profile shopping districts are vital for the prosperity and image of major UK cities, and can’t be simply abandoned.
It wasn’t that long ago that a trip to the area around Piccadilly Circus was a treat not just for tourists but for Londoners too. As a sports fan growing up in the capital, Lillywhites was possibly the most exciting shopping trip imaginable. And in the evening the iconic Tower Records store had a buzz about it that no other shop in the city could rival.
It’s easy to look at the past through rose-tinted glasses, but there’s no doubt that despite being metres from the terrific reinvention of Regent Street, the surroundings are now utterly depressing.
Under Mike Ashley Lillywhites is a disgrace, now replicated in the former Burberry flagship store head office around the corner where unbelievably a temporary sports clearance outlet has set up shop. The Tower Records store is empty, and the holier-than-thou Crown Estate, having rejected TK Maxx, has now agreed a letting to a souvenir shop on the former Virgin site
But these aren’t just the moans of a grumpy Cockney. Up and down the country, some of our most prestigious retail locations are being allowed to rot. 10 years ago Manchester’s King Street was the buzzing fashion centre of the North. Today it’s desolate.
Times change and failing retailers disappear. That’s business. But reinvention of the retail offer is vital. High-profile shopping districts are vital for the prosperity and image of major UK cities, and can’t be simply abandoned.
Local councils and landlords have responsibility for determining whether their shopping areas have a future. Where there’s fragmented ownership, such as on King Street or Oxford Street, the council has to take the lead.
Relatively small investment in improving the public realm or events to bring some life back into areas would be a good start. Roadworks of the type that have made Edinburgh’s Princes Street a nightmare aren’t a good way of attracting shoppers, and far too many of our prime shopping areas are like obstacle courses for people to negotiate on foot.
It’s all about councils having a strategy for retail and valuing its contribution. The Crown Estate has shown what can be achieved on Regent Street, as has Shaftesbury on Carnaby Street, but it’s not often one landlord owns the whole street, and that’s where local authorities need to step in.
None of these declines are irreversible. But the longer some of retail’s crown jewels are neglected, the harder it will be to turn them around.
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