The answer to our high street demise is in a word, community.

It is widely acknowledged that town centre decline has been accelerated by COVID, but we were unfortunately headed in that direction long before the pandemic. Some shoppers tend to avoid the high street experience because of the ordeal involved. Research shows that locals feel it is expensive to park and the high street has outdated or unappealing shops. And 50% of consumers spend less time on their local high street than they did five years ago.