Shropshire Star comment: The high street is not dead yet
The demise of high streets across the country is a continued cause for concern.
In the last 20 years shops have disappeared from our town and city centres at an alarming rate, with many places unrecognisable from their heyday.
Where once there were streets teeming with shoppers, we now have quieter commercial centres.
In some places, the open stores available to customers are outnumbered by boarded up shops.
According to new figures, the West Midlands saw a net loss of 188 shops over the last year – the biggest rise in shop closures in five years.
This comes at a time when a number of major stores have hit trouble, with Debenhams the latest to add to that unwanted list.
Of course, the rapid decline in the number of stores has reflected changes to our shopping habits.
More and more people prefer the ease of shopping online, while all-purpose shopping malls offer an easy solution for those who want to get everything they need from under the same roof.
However, all is not lost, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that some of our towns and cities are diversifying in a bid to attract visitors.
While our local authorities have not given up on the high street, it is clear that changes are afoot.
In Shrewsbury, there are efforts to make the centre more appealing to visitors by expanding pedestrian areas, while its unique shops and restaurants – not to mention the award-winning Market Hall – mean the county town remains a unique destination.
In Telford, the Southwater development has given the town a new lease of life – bringing a top quality leisure offering to sit alongside the shopping centre.
None of this should mask the problems faced by our high street stores – and there is certainly more that could be done to help them, particularly in terms of business rates.
You can’t halt progress, and it is important that all of our towns and cities move with the times and embrace new ways of bringing in visitors or potentially face harsher consequences.
In a decade’s time our high streets will be very different places, but we should not write them off just yet.
