What can be done to save Britain’s High Streets?

Dr Steve McCabe, Associate Professor at Birmingham City University with analysis of Britain’s retail centres.

Transcript

00:00 I think pre-pandemic people were very much used to shopping in-store and we did see online

00:08 growing slightly but not as much as we saw online sales growing at the exponential rate

00:14 it did during the pandemic. We're still seeing online sales grow and it doesn't seem to be

00:19 slowing down and people are becoming much more used to shopping online but that doesn't

00:24 mean to say that they don't value the in-store experience anymore.

00:28 The move from stores like this to online was certainly accelerated by the pandemic but

00:34 High Street retailers have been hit by a number of factors including rising wages, business

00:39 rates and people simply having less to spend due to the cost of living crisis.

00:45 Well I mean we had a report last week that only a fraction of the levelling up funds

00:49 have actually been spent for the purposes which of course is quite precise to make poor

00:53 areas richer and it's not particularly successful but with direct relevance to High Streets.

01:00 Yeah I mean the government would like High Streets to be sort of vibrant places and we're

01:05 in one today which of course we've seen lots of people are milling about because it's half

01:08 term but at the same sort of time is it the government's job to stimulate retaining?

01:14 They can, many people believe, look after themselves.

01:17 The government say they have a long-term plan to support the evolution and regeneration

01:22 of all High Streets across every part of the UK into thriving places to work, visit and

01:28 live.

01:29 However, there has been criticism for this plan.

01:32 So what needs to be done to turn things around?

01:35 So Pinkcliffe I think if we could be encouraged to sort of get out of our cars and dare I

01:40 say it get on good public transport and meet in city centres and town centres that would

01:44 be a sort of good thing but that of course requires a tremendous amount of investment.

01:48 There's a long way to go and indeed we're told that there's not enough money to look

01:52 after the basic problems or issues of the health service and public services beyond

01:58 rejuvenating High Streets.