6 November, 2026

The traditional high street is unlikely to make a comeback. Perhaps that is no bad thing.

Department stores, banks and big-name retailers are disappearing, but the spaces they leave behind don’t have to stay empty. An article in the Financial Times recently looked at how the high street is changing. In Dewsbury, a restored Victorian arcade has become the UK’s first community-run shopping centre. In Birkenhead, local organisations are creating live music venues and affordable workspaces. In Brixton, the local community is trying to raise enough money to bring two covered markets into shared ownership to preserve their character. These are not attempts to recreate the high street of the past; instead, they try to offer something new and different to visitors and local residents.

And the numbers suggest this shift is already underway. Between 2015 and 2024, retail employment on central high streets fell by 19%, while accommodation and food-service employment grew by 18%. In other words, high streets are becoming places to meet, eat and spend time, not simply to shop.

Now the government wants to speed up that change. Its new strategy includes £210 million to transform derelict buildings, rescue community assets and support co- high-street rental auctions. Funding on its own won’t create thriving town centres. Local people and businesses need a genuine say in what moves in next. If empty shops can become affordable homes for traders, music venues and community organisations, the next high street could offer something the old one often lacked: a local stake in its success.

By Alice Railton