Even before the pandemic hit, we were already talking about the death of the high street.
It seemed like every week yet another household name was hitting the headlines for their struggles, profit warnings and job losses.
Then along came Covid-19 and stories of retailers surviving has become the exception, not the norm.
This change has been a long time coming. Retail habits have been evolving for years.
The rise and ease of online shopping – your clothes from ASOS, your food from Ocado (and frankly anything else from Amazon) has become a way of life for many of us looking for that convenience.
With lockdown came a new wave of home-based hobbies, challenging the return of footfall to the high street even further.
Gyms, cinemas, and restaurants who had taken over vacant shops are now faced with home workouts, Netflix and Deliveroo.
To bring people back into town centres will require a new way of thinking.
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The good news is that, while the pandemic might have accelerated things, across Greater Manchester we’d already started to adapt.
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Town centres will no longer be reliant on retail for their success or failure, and frankly I’m not sure they ever should have been.
Having a more mixed offer, with homes, workspaces, retail and leisure sitting side by side makes total sense.
It’s much more sustainable with people living close to where they work or within walking distance of good transport links. And it creates much more vibrant town centres with activity day and night.
Earlier this year we announced our £60m .
It’s part of the Council and Mayoral Development Corporation’s ambitious plans for the town centre.
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We’re looking to transform the iconic mill – located right in the heart of the town centre alongside the town’s viaduct and the planned new £120m transport interchange – into a new community.
It’ll create 250 new homes with a new frontage onto the river, spaces for café-bars, delis or independent shops, surrounding courtyards and green spaces – all open to the public.
We recently launched a consultation on our plans and the reaction so far has been amazing. Weir Mill is just crying out to be shown some love and we’ve got the opportunity to create some incredible loft-style apartments (think exposed brickwork and original features) alongside some great places to hang out.
We’re pretty open to what the commercial space could be used for, but it absolutely won’t be big brands. So if you’re a local independent trader and looking for your next home, get in touch!
Town centres are changing and it’s places like Stockport that are rising to the challenge. With easy access into Manchester and a stone’s throw from the Peak District, Stockport town centre is becoming a really exciting alternative to city living.
Stockport is not alone. Towns like Rochdale, Bolton and Oldham are also looking to reinvent their town centres and be trailblazers in their vision. They can become satellites to the larger cities creating affordable, mixed-use communities which are well connected to urban centres and taking pressure off developing in the Green Belt.
With the well-connected transport system we already have, people who want to stay near to Manchester jobs won’t have to pay city centre prices.
Coronavirus has reminded us how important our local communities are, never before have we known our neighbours so well, connecting across generations (and garden walls). Town centre living can bring communities closer to each other and to their workspaces, local shops and amenities.
The High Street may be changing but I for one think it’s for the better and a long time overdue.
You can follow Tim on Twitter .