Tell us about your high streets

Local authorities should consider ways to encourage smaller shops that are not part of chains to continue trading, e.g. through tax incentives or tax reductions.  What is lacking is more of these smaller shops, although smaller shops do manage in the wealthier areas. The larger chains are an ugly part of UK cities though they do have their part to play.

Online retail is individualistic, self-centred and actually not always as convenient as one is led to believe. You often need to look at the product in person anyway, there are scams going on in terms of non-delivery and unreliable websites, and last but not least you may have to wait longer for a delivery than if you ordered an item from a physically real store by phoning them. They may obtain it within a couple of days whereas online ordering often takes five days, unless you pay a premium. Hence the high street, especially with individual stores, has something wonderful to offer in terms of its human approachability. We must make an effort to promote and encourage it.

Hi.

I am retired engineer and live at postcode W14 8BG within walking distance of Westfield where we shop for food, clothes generally in the evenings in the dry and warm conditions inside. We always walk there. We use a roller airline bag if doing a big shop.

I am 65Yrs old and male, and do a lot of DIY. So I cycle down to Leyland Hardware Store on High Street Kensington, 3 or 4 times a week for about 50% of my needs. The rest is ordered on line, and i get about 3 to 5 courier visits per week.  On these cycle trips, I incorporate visits to chemists, Whole Foods, Bank, and post Office. All of these services are unavailable in Westfield.

Another regular shop is a Saturday morning walk up to the Farmers Market in NottingHill for unpackaged fresh vegetables, raw milk, mushrooms, apples.

We incorporate a visit to Sainsbuy's Chiswick by car when we come back from Wednesday's trip to our allotment, where we are attempting to grow 40% of our fruit, vegetable needs. We have an all electric EV E-Golf which we try to get some charging on Sainsbury's 3KW charger if it is free.

Finally we shop on Turnham Green Terrace for plastic free items at SOURCE. We take all our containers for refills about twice a month. 

We have almost stopped buying clothes because we have ample and also from being aware of the environmental impact.

My High Street is Battersea Park Road.  I have lived in the area for over 20 years and it has not improved.  When we first moved in there was Joe Mist an Independant fish shop, a butcher and a green grocer which have all gone.  Even our local Spar closed down a few years ago.  I can buy a paper and some milk but in my part of Battersea Park Road no food shop at all.  We have a good chemist, a health food shop and then an optician, a nail bar, a couple of hairdressers and some little cafes and a long standing Italian restaurant which is very popular and usually known as 'half price pasta'......on Monday's and Thursdays.  Much further up is a local branch of Sainsbury which is good but too far to walk back with heavy shopping.  As Wandsworth is split into a number of areas for parking restrictions (unlike Kensington which is just one) you cannot park always in the area you want unless you pay- why can't we be just one area like Kensington?

Battersea Park Road is heavily polluted with a constant stream of traffic - busses and lorries - almost non stop.  You can smell the pollution on warm days and it is not pleasant to walk down with noisy traffic and very dangerous when trying to cross the road.  We are lucky to have Battersea Park nearby but for shopping and well being I would rather live somewhere else and in fact now drive to Barnes for a really pleasant shopping experience and easy parking- free after 12 pm.  I can quite see why new businesses think twice before opening in Battersea Park Road .

Ban cars from high street so people can enjoy shopping without car fumes and in safety. Provide easier access for disable people using public transport 

The high street is one of those things that you will not appreciate how valuable it is to the community until it is gone and gone it will be if action not taken. I agree with Mary Portas- charge the big boys that bring people in the same business rates as charity shops and the punters will follow. I will happily travel miles and miles to go to a decent high street- Hampstead as an example- but my local high street - only if I am desperate.

I choose to use my Sainsbury's local, the baker and the big Tesco for food shopping - have never used online for food - partly for exercise!  Much healthier to walk and carry bags!

However, my high street has been impoverished over time - I was a regular user of Woolworths! Primark was replaced with a pound shop and one of the reasons I moved to the area was for a fresh fish shop which almost immediately closed down.  There have been 2 attempts at 'books plus coffee' shops, the last one was hugely successful, but unfortunately was always going to be 'pop-up'.  It is still sadly missed (All you read is Love in Leytonstone). 

On the plus side, a pub that kept failing was taken over by a gastro-pub chain and has transformed the feel of this part of the high road.  An artisan bakers a few doors down has had the same effect.  But for some reason these developments are few and far between - Eat 17 (a success in Walthamstow and Hackney) failed to secure perfect premises from owners who mysteriously decided not to let?

I understand that the freeholders of most of the commercial property are either greedy or obstructive/unhelpful - given that they are not local, they probably don't care.  Might the council or the mayor use their powers in such cases?

From:  Brent Parks Forum:  Councils always need to  get to know their Town/Shopping area before putting in schemes.  Many will benefit from Cycle Lanes but the High Street  also needs to serve bus users; Tram users and pram pushing; wheelchair- mobility pavement electric vehicles (elderly and disabled users), as well as  visually and hearing impaired people.

Lamppost charging points;  Bike stands;  all need to be carefully sited.  

Better Green Infrastructure - with benches where possible - This allows for community- cohesion to take place and keeps the streets cooler in the summer / especially during drought .  [NB: We are stating this in discussion due to only 3 tick boxes allowed]. 

New cultivars for street trees are being looked at. We are approaching Capel Manor the main  Hortic.  College in London who have a dedicated arboricultural Dept. run by  Bartlett.  We are asking for more drought resistant cultivars - broad leaved.  EG:  New lower growing Plane Trees with smaller girth - with drought resistance.    There should be active research and laising with Tree Officers in Borough Councils.  A key issue is also,  how deep a tree is planted. It is essental to create a pressured environment which, if it is the right species and cultivar, will grow downwards under this pressure..  Street trees have a tendancy to be planted far too near to the surface,  together with  varieties that tend to have  roots that natually push upwards and along paving under pressure: The worst to plant. 

We have Seen 100s of this type of prunus  ornamental which must have been planted between 10-20 years ago.  An Annual/regular  - Maintenance program for Street trees is essential.  

I'm lucky - Highbury Barn / Blackstock Road is one of the best small shopping areas that I know.  For bigger items, Angel / Upper St is quite good, though some small shops have been squeezed out by retaurants etc.  I might not be so happy if I had to do all my shopping in Holloway Road, with its heavy traffic and some very run-down buildings (though some shops are good).

One of the main things we need are trees and wildlife planting , areas to attract birds bees and insects.  We also need more local independent small individual retailers with lower rents and rates for residents of London. I have to travel to various areas to get what i want from small independant retailers 

Every high street is full of large national, multiglobal chain stores and restaurants, some who dont even pay tax in the UK and are crushing the small individual retailer.  The high streets should reflect shopping needs for local people as it was in bygone times  , i.e butcher, baker, candlestick maker . 

We need less betting shops too . 

Our high streets - which I think means the place you go expecting to find most of what you want to buy, rather than a specialist shop which could be located anywhere - are better than no high street at all.  Therefore, I think we should try to preserve them before it's too late and not let them wither and die.  However, my local - Harrow Road, Maida Hill - is not a joyous place to shop.  It could be so much better - better streetscape and better shops - ideally, shops with character and not the low-end multiples we seem to have now

As already mentioned, with so much shopping online, we cannot afford to support as many shops -- it is us consumers who pay for them. Rates, rent and staff all have to be paid for out of the proceeds of sales. We need an orderly transition to smaller centres, with the outlying shops converted to flats, offices or workshops, whatever is needed, and training for the people put out of work [there are lots of things that need doing -- building flood defences, nursing, support for problem gamblers]. We should all be consuming less anyway with climate change upon us, so I would not support any policy whose main aim is to get us to visit our high streets more, and by implication buy more (see the introduction above which says "What would encourage you to go to your local high streets more?").

Talk London seems to talk American. Let's have British English spellings please. There is a 'u' in colour! 

On line does have some advantages - I can source items worldwide. not just round the corner. But most things I want I need to see and feel the quality, judge colours and sizes exactly. Food shopping I wish to choose a specific item - that apple in particular, not any old apple. I need to discuss my purchases with the vendor, feel the weight and balance of an item and if my bike needs a new tube, I need it now, not in an hour or day or week or two. I don't want to hang about the house all day waiting for a promised delivery or goods damaged in transit.

My town, Kingston, has gone downhill hugely since my (relative) youth, we lost all the independent traders to the national names, and now they have cleared out without a care. The markets have been mismanaged and are shadows of their former glories - the reason I moved here in the first place. When I arrived I had the choice of 5 bakers who baked on the premises I could walk to. None today.

I want to do business with independent traders who I can develop a personal relationship with.

Free movement on foot is made difficult by the poor design of road crossings, push buttons which have no discernible effect, or an unrealistic delay, and then simply get you to a traffic island in the middle of the road so you can enjoy a whole cycle of traffic signals before reaching the other side.

Reopening a few public conveniences and keeping them presentable would be a good idea too.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

I love my local high street and there have been new businesses coming to the area but cars do massively dominate the area which can make it unpleasant to walk to the shops. Pavement parking is a real issue making it difficult to get around and often forcing pedestrians into the roads. 
I'd like more funding for cycling and walking schemes that don't dump shoppers at busy junctions when they need priority. 

Harlesden High Street / Station Road / Jubilee Clock area's roads and pavements all got repaved and tress planted a few years back when they altered the road set-up. This refurbishment improved the area massively. It still looks pretty good now. I don't think many shops have changed but the environment was much more welcoming....

Enfield Council and Tfl have wasted £43m on Cycle lanes which are largely unused and have directly contributed to the decline of the businesses along the length of these on the A105. The knock-on effect on journey times being stuck behind buses on narrower roads means Enfield Town is now difficult to reach - much quicker to drive to out-of-town shopping centres.  Own goal number 1!  The population and the profile of shoppers in Enfield is largely older people, young mums with buggies or young children, flat dwelling commuters from Central London, people with heavy shopping and school kids with heavy bags - none of these are potential cyclists yet the Council and Tfl are still trying to stop traffic to Enfield by threatening to introduce cycling lanes and pedestrianise the Town.  This is a also a Town which is reached on 3 sides by hills - which cyclists don't currently use so are unlikely to start now!!  - Own goal number 2.  All this could have been found out - and indeed was reflected in a ;'consultation' prior to the cycle lane introduction but totally ignored with building work commencing before the consultation was complete. - Own goal number 3.  The Council and TFl now want to spend even more public money 'greening' Enfield Town but ignoring boarded up shops which make it a no-go area. Own goal 4.  They have also allowed building on one of the few remaining surface car parks and charging extortionate rates for the few left which also have to be used by those coming to Enfield to work - despite a call for cheaper shoppers' parking in surface car parks. The profile of shoppers are uncomfortable using dark multi-storeys. Number 5  The 'night-time economy' the Council wants to achieve will be useless without adequate surface parking - and that is mainly gone.  Introducing cycle lanes will clear what is left - Own goal 6.  Enfield Council knows all this but carries on regardless.    

Agree many of comments already made.  Far too many coffee shops. Try making your own coffee not difficult.., and similar in terms of eating in at home rather than constantly out. You'll save a lot of money. Too many lazy folks who have no idea how to cook basic food which could've been bought more cheaply in your high street. Not sure of usefulness of artisan, expensive shops. More fruit and veg shops and traditional butchers/fishmongers but not seeking to be exclusive, just ordinary everyday food shops for basics. More ordinary, traditional pubs, not gastropubs...

Not convinced by so called farmers' markets and the like in high streets. Far too many sell expensive food products, such as selling overpriced foodstuffs such as cheese they've bought and then put on huge mark up on prices, often selling it priced per 100g which is tiny portion of cheese, think of the price per kilo and you realise quickly real rip off price .... We could learn a lot from across the Channel from many continental countries about what a healthy high street should look like with mainly independent, small shops and traditional food markets there rather than UK ubiquitous chain shops.

Empty shops and betting shops seem to be thriving on the high street. Business rates and incentives should be in place to encourage new shops, parking should be free to local high streets to keep them busy. Betting shops should have restricted hours, I like a local restaurant which is next to a betting shop, it can be quite threatening in the evening to go in while men are hanging around outside smoking. Not pleasant, if high streets are to be good community places and lively evening venues of enjoyment, people have to feel comfortable and safe. High streets must be good places to visit if they are to survive.

My local "high street" is Northfields in Ealing. over the past 5 years we have lost the services of a butcher a baker and a fishmonger among others and while they have re-let, it is with "bored Wife Syndrome" type shop units selling tawdry nonsense. i accept that part of the reason for the loss is structural but all the stores were very popular and as far as could be seen profitable. the local council did not make it easy for shoppers to visit and for businesses who needed to sort out deliveries, to function. Their parking pricing policy is a money making venture that seems to be designed to be unhelpful to small businesses while the commercial rates burden is just that, a burden; and one that is unacceptably onerous.

Neighbourhood centres like Northfields Ave thrive on the provision of local services by local traders. If you want to see your local high sts prosper then you should actively discourage the proliferation of retail parks and out of town centres that kill high sts and do your best to ensure that your policies are helpful and not as in the case of Ealing positively antipathetical. There is little or no joined up thinking and no real long term planning as to how to encourage and maintain interest in these more marginal locations from both retailers and shoppers.

As a strategy you need to even up the tax burden for the various forms of shopping. retail parks should be made to charge for their now free parking spaces. the retail rates burden should be removed and replaced with a greater level of VAT that would fall equally on all but rid bricks and mortar retailing of its unique tax burden. There are other policies that could be employed to encourage individual start ups and small local retailers. Also look again at retirement relief and some form of loan fund to allow retiring retailers like my butcher to sell on his business rather than close it down thereby making half a dozen people redundant in the process.

Draconian parking restrictions are killing the High Streets in Ealing and Hounslow

Hillingdon has it right with subsidised High Street parking for residents followed by reasonable parking charges.

I would like to shop in my local high street but there are very few shops I would visit, I would like to see decent clothes shops, a butcher, baker etc.  a few more independent shops.

at the moment our high road has lots of charity shops, pound shops, betting shops, we do have local supermarkets but because they are local they are expensive.

if I want to shop for clothes, shoes, underwear etc. I have to travel away from the local area .