Object
Strategic Growth Options
Representation ID: 5249
Received: 17/02/2015
Respondent: T. Holmes
Number of people: 2
No. Not necessarily. I don't believe town centres are dying as many but they are changing. They are reinventing themselves. Local shopping will continue to be threatened by out of town superstores and regional shopping centres. It's difficult to see how that trend can be reversed. However, a generation ago town centres were dead after 6pm except maybe for the odd pub. Although butchers, fishmongers and bakers are in short supply, the mix of restaurants, bars and leisure facilities and what could be deemed 'lifestyle' retail such as hairdressing, clothes, beauty salons etc have taken up much of the slack. As a result the demand in the High Street now spans maybe 14 hours a day as opposed to 8 or 9. It is no coincidence that town centre living is much more popular now (hence the huge number of town centre apartments that have been built in the last 10 years).
see attached