In a world of internet shopping, chain stores and out-of-town retail parks, the traditional high street is struggling to compete.
In a bid to resuscitate them, the government has pledged £100,000 to 100 high streets to try and bring empty shops back into use. But is this enough to save our high street, and does it even need saving?
Speaking to students about the value they place on the high street, it is apparent that because it is nearly always cheaper to shop online, what entices them away from the internet is when the high street offers more of an experience. Shoppers appreciate town centres with a local flavour – any town can throw up identical WHSmiths or H&Ms, but this won’t encourage people to choose them over out-of-town retail parks.
Students in Bath and York, cities where the high streets are thriving, attributed this success to their uniqueness. Bath Spa student Addy Newton believes individualism in shops in many high streets has died out, as visitors to a town often prefer the familiarity of chains. She thinks large numbers of chain stores not only make it hard for local shops to compete, but also make the high street a less interesting place to visit.
Noor Dawson, a University of York student, echoes this idea. “I love shopping in York for the simple reason that it has so many individual shops”, she says, adding that nowadays people place more value in unique gifts that can be found in boutique shops on the high street. Once again, however, price becomes an issue – these shops are often more expensive, and students’ tight purse strings may drive them back to the chain stores.
While a rejuvenated high street could play an important role as the centre of a community, some might say the government grant is a big expenditure to achieve this. Sheffield University student Lauren Edwards was surprised to hear that Sheffield was receiving a £100,000 grant, as she couldn’t see where all the money would go. If the scheme is going to be efficient then it seems the government needs to tailor the grant to different communities’ needs.
Whether the scheme will be enough to bring high streets across the country back to life, or indeed whether in a recession we have the time and money to dedicate to this project, remains to be seen.