Tell us about your high streets

Chatsworth Road in E5 until recently had 2 free ATMs, these are now charging to withdraw cash. As a result I don't shop or socialize  in my local area as much as I would like. For me it's a matter of principal not wishing to pay to withdraw my own money however many people in the area can't afford these charges.

People seem to be unusually hypocritical regarding this controversial issue.  People want jobs, but on-line shopping puts people (ast least local people) out of jobs.  People say they like traditional high streets and their positive impact on culture and community, but they shop on-line or drive to a large mall on the edge of the town/city to shop or eat out.  People say they like personal service, but shopping on-line or in large malls rarely offers personal service.  People say they want to reduce packaging, but shopping on-line and home delivery produces more packaging, especially if you consider that a rising proportion of on-line shopping is returned  People say they want less traffic and air pollution in their town/city, but on-line shopping and fast food deliveries increase the number of journeys required. Frankly, the solutions seem obvious, but people do not want to embrace them.  It is similar to the hypocrisy surrounding "buy British".  Most people say they support British industry but will purchase a cheaper alternative given the chance.

High streets are important for the following reasons:

1) they make people happier - if you live in a vibrant place with lots of green spaces, restaurants and foot traffic, you feel happier

2) they make people safer - if a woman lives close to a busy high street, she'll feel safer going out and coming back home at all times of the night

3) they make the locals feel like a community

4) they are economic magnets: houses close to a high street are higher in value, tourists visit and spend money, locals go out and spend money

We should tax online retailers more and reinvest the money in the development of the high street

Many of our high streets are on busy main roads full of motor vehicles. They would be much more attractive if these vehicles could be diverted onto other routes.

Politicians should take action to reverse the flow to online shopping - taxing Amazon so it pays a fair rate of tax should be the start. 

I think our local shops need our support and that means getting rid of supermarkets, or at least stopping any more of them, and supporting small local shops - butchers, fishmongers, grocers.  That would get rid of all this plastic packaging as well as improving the quality of what we eat.  As for shopping on line, all that does is increase the amount of local delivery traffic and clog up our roads.

We really have to face up to the fact that unless attitudes toward the high street are going to drastically change, we will continually see the decline into more betting shops, chicken/fast food shops, and every other homogenised brand that is on every high street in the country! Of course there are high streets that are successful, with artisan shops opening up and a community that supports them, however my view is that these are in affluent areas where the residents are economically able to keep these streets vibrant. If you go to a less affluent area, people cannot afford to "pay a little more" to go to their local shop. 

These spaces, I believe, can only be saved by making them places where people want to go, but not just to shop, to meet, to socialise, to be a part of a community. Bring back libraries, youth centres, drop in centres, skills workshops and other public services to the high street. Make these spaces attractive and more importantly, safe for people to feel comfortable to go there in the evenings after work.

Our town centre is terrible in the evenings, the only things open are the fast food shops, the major superstores and the bookies. Pubs have virtually disappeared, and there is no signs of a local community existing in that space.

The high street as we have known it is dead. Use these spaces for something positive, for our future generations, give them something positive to do, since a lot of them are there in the evenings anyway, doing very little by the looks of it!

Soon, very soon nobody will be able to afford to shop in the high street as the ULEZ charge will make it too expensive. How can you do your weekly shopping using the tube or train??? The West End and Central London will be the playground of the rich. This Mayor has no idea what he has done to make the divide so large between rich and poor. High streets will be a thing of the past and thousands will lose their jobs as a result. It is all heading for a downward spiral until we get a new Mayor.