Platform Places’ Post

I'm always interested in reflections on high streets, especially when they come from lovely people that I've had the pleasure of working with throughout the years. Holly Lewis' reflections resonate deeply with the discussions that Roland Karthaus, Tanushree Agarwal and I had as part of the Homes England Learning Programme on town centre regeneration. One of the key questions that came up time and time again was: what is the future of the high street and what uses have done better in recent years? To me, it feels like perhaps we need to reframe that thinking slightly. High streets have always been more than just places to shop—they’re cultural and social hubs, anchors of local identity. If we want them to thrive, we need to reimagine their purpose and strengthen their capacity to serve as vibrant community spaces. As someone who has dedicated over a decade to working on high streets and town centres, I really agree with Holly's emphasis on local partnerships as the key to truly shaping the function that high streets should protect moving forward: spaces where communities can come together. But, fixing our high streets isn’t just about addressing what’s wrong; it’s about fostering long-term resilience. This means creating a vision for high streets that aligns with what people value and need, and ensuring they remain accessible, affordable, and adaptable. Achieving this requires a collaborative approach where landlords, businesses, and the community at large are actively involved in their evolution and decision-making. Giving more agency and powers to local authorities and communities is a brilliant step in their direction. #highstreets #regeneration

High streets are complicated places and the ground is shifting underneath them. Long-term vacancy remains a problem for many. So what should we be doing? Holly Lewis writes for The Guardian on emerging new approaches. Against a generally gloomy backdrop, a report published at the end of November by the House of Lords’ built environment committee makes for refreshing reading, opening with evidence of “an optimistic and flourishing future” for our high streets. The report is also honest about the scale of the problem. Our research for the Greater London Authority has documented that high streets are particularly important places for vulnerable people in society, so supporting them to overcome persistent vacancy is vital work. Investment in our high streets is investment in our communities. With the right overlapping of funding and need, they make for great places to tackle two issues with the same pound. If we’re smart about it, high streets can be at the core of the brighter future that we’re all searching for. #highstreets #adaptivestrategies #missions https://lnkd.in/ehvjwbhW

Great to read this on the value of a vibrant high street. I've recently moved to Margate and one of my favourite facts about the town is that as recently as 2012 the high street vacancy rate was 36.5%. Now, in 2024, it is all the way down to 14.6%! (Yes, I am that kind of researcher that looked up these stats... https://lnkd.in/eSr9vqSe). This matters because it means there are more places to go out and be social, more reasons to be out in public, more opportunities to meet new people, and more people employed. High street vacancies are a key indicator of the health of the public social life of an area – and more places should be paying attention to orgs like We Made That trying to create positive change.

How are high streets to thrive in a world in which bricks and mortar retail is in a seemingly unstoppable decline? That's the challenge for local authorities across the UK who have a responsibility to ensure their town centres are thriving hearts of the community. According to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, the answer is threefold: local leadership, innovation, quality. So far, so orthodox; but their report published last week, 'High Streets: Life beyond retail?' has a number of interesting planning recommendations. Among them: - expansion of the commercially flexible use class E - review of permitted development rights that allow shops to be converted into houses - greater use of Article 4 directions to curate high streets - NPPF amendments to prioritise town centre first retail and support location of libraries, civid buildings and health centres on high streets. There's plenty more to take in - not least a complete overhaul of towns funding streams - and our news report does a thorough job, with commentary from the committee chair Daniel Moylan and high streets expert Vicky Payne. Have a read and tell us what you think in the comments below: https://lnkd.in/eVUkHQpY Pic credit: William Barton, Shutterstock #highstreets #towncentres #urbanplanning

I can’t believe Gail’s is opening in Stoke Newington. (It says everything about our high streets). Gail’s opening in ‘Stokey’ is fascinating because Church Street has always been fiercely independent. A street that built its identity on being different. One long road full of beige goodness. Back in 2008, there were protests when Nando's opened. 15 years later? Alongside Nando's: - Perky Blenders - Zia Lucia - And yes, Gail's All backed by private equity. All once 'independent' darlings. While we obsess over keeping streets "independent," businesses are quietly struggling. Empty units are becoming more common on streets like Church Street than we'd like to admit. Running an independent business is HARD. Especially in a cost of living crisis. Especially when you're paying London rent. Especially when competing with economies of scale. So there's a deeper conversation here. Whilst I'm vocal against selling the soul of our high streets to the same old vendors, UK wide. I have to be honest - some independents offer subpar experiences while some chains can sincerely bring benefits to local culture and community. The future of our high streets isn't binary (chains vs independents). I just want to see spaces that: - Serve the community - Stay financially viable - Keep streets alive and relevant So the question landlords and developers should be asking at a master plan level is: How can we ensure ANY business - chain or independent - actually adds value to the street's identity, and thinks about the connected consumer experience from retailer to retailer? Because an empty unit serves nobody. And a thriving high street needs both stability AND soul. Just my two cents 🤷 What's yours?

🏗 Plans to transform two town centre sites into new communities have been submitted to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. Social impact developers Capital&Centric are looking to breathe new life into a vacant brownfield site at Ryecroft and the 1960s York Place Shopping centre, creating new neighbourhoods with new homes, business spaces, and places for people to hang out in. The team have revealed the new names for the two neighbourhoods. Dubbed “Astley Place”, the shopping centre will be re-booted as a new heart of the town centre, with over 50 new apartments, improved spaces to shop and a new music venue. Its name is a tribute to Philip Astley, the founder of the modern circus who was born there in 1742. The Ryecroft site – now known as “Rye Park” – will be reimagined into a neighbourhood, featuring a mix of family homes and apartments, as well as a new urban park creating a gateway into the town and a place for the community to dwell and enjoy the green space. Find out more about the plans here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e34vS-QU #WeAreStaffordshire #Invest #Investment #Regeneration Louisa Shaw, Simon McEneny, Anthony Hodge, Jonathan Vining

As everyone working in economic development knows intimately, one of the greatest challenges facing cities' sustainable and healthy growth is the lack of affordable housing. A low inventory of housing options impacts both current residents and the ability to attract new talent. High interest rates, nimby-ism (not-in-my-backyard), and a lack of available land have greatly impacted cities' ability to solve the housing challenge. While perhaps not the answer for every city, I thought today's article in The Wall Street Journal titled, "Is Living on Top of a Costco the Answer to the Affordable Housing Crisis?" might serve as a bit of inspiration for city leaders, developers, and economic development professionals. Have a read, as oftentimes creative and extraordinary approaches by others offer inspiration for the challenges found in our own communities. (Note: if the article is not available to you, feel free to message me and I will email you a PDF if that's helpful).

Time to decide @Denver if we are a #cityforall or a city for a privileged few. Personally, I'm pro-18% affordability, increased connectivity, 6,000 units of housing in the urban core, decreased commutes and more public spaces downtown. This seems like a fair exchange for views that have already been impacted. #density #affordablehousing #futurecity #transit #urbanplanning

Great to see Willoughby City Council putting out a Discussion Paper on land use mix in the Chatswood CBD. See: https://lnkd.in/grX25S4U The Paper recognises the huge amount of work put into its original CBD Strategy, but also the significant headwinds since then of the commercial market downturn. At the same time, there have been several development applications for build-to-rent housing under NSW Government planning policy, as well as a call to arms to deliver NSW's share of the National Housing Accord dwelling targets at 76,000 new dwelling completions per year to 2029. Worth getting involved to shape the future of one of the north shore's key CBDs. https://lnkd.in/gUtQXNan

A key Takeaway from the NYC Real Estate Expo: Affordable Housing Restrictions In NYC, these restrictions aren’t working as intended. They do provide housing for low-income residents, but they also limit supply and drive up market-rate rents. It was pointed out that if those affordable units were returned to the market, rents could drop by around 30% There’s a lesson here for Charleston. Restricting use for affordable housing is risky, and we’re starting to toe that line. Public officials won’t solve the housing crisis by limiting development. Instead, they need to partner with developers to bring more units to market. That’s how we balance supply and demand and make real progress.