Happy (almost) New Year! Thank you so much for supporting HighStreetPositives throughout 2024. This past year, we’ve evolved from sharing uplifting high street stories across the UK and Ireland to launching a monthly newsletter—now on its fifth edition! Our mission is to shift the narrative around high streets by showcasing innovation, transformation, and community success stories, inspiring confidence, footfall, and investment to keep these spaces vibrant for future generations. As we step into 2025, please keep sharing your good news, mention this newsletter to friends and colleagues, and let’s continue spreading positivity about the evolution of our high streets! 🙌

‘The High Street is Dying’ They said…However…

There are loads of positive news stories from high streets across the UK. Here's a selection of highlights , celebrating new store openings, regeneration projects, and other positive developments

• Jo Malone London is expanding its retail presence with plans to open up to 51 stores outside of London by mid-2026. Targeting market towns like Wilmslow, Farnham, and Leamington Spa, the brand aims to increase its store portfolio from 37 to 51.

• Cornish Bakery, has been ranked in the top 100 of all fast-growth retail companies. Its new Milton Keynes store, its 65th bakery, has achieved record-breaking sales of over £40K in its first week, with stronger than expected customer demand and queues to get in the store.

• Space NK plans to open 10 new stores in 2025, continuing to expand both high streets and shopping centres.

• Frasers Group has announced a provisional opening date of 8th May for its 70,000 sq ft Frasers concept store and Flannels in Dundee’s Overgate Shopping Centre, marking the city’s largest retail investment in over a decade.

• Gail’s is set to open 40 new locations in the UK in 2025, continuing its rapid high street expansion with over 150 existing stores.

• Merseyway Shopping Centre in Stockport celebrated a successful 2024 with four major store openings, 13 lease renewals, and a record footfall of seven million. The redevelopment of Merseyway is central to Stockport’s £1bn regeneration plans, with the upcoming launch of Stockroom, a cultural and creative hub transforming 135,000 sq ft of vacant retail space into a modern library, café, and event spaces. Additionally, Merseyway’s pop-up space has seen a 23% increase in demand in 2024, offering local independent businesses the opportunity to test the high street with short-term leases.

• Online fashion brand Sosandar is expanding into physical retail, with plans to open up to 50 stores over the next three to five years, following successful store openings during 2024 in Chelmsford, Marlow, Metrocentre and St David’s in Cardiff

• Rituals is also expanding with new store openings in 2025 and is hiring Store and Assistant Store Managers for locations across the UK and Ireland.

• Artlandish, a project supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is transforming an empty shop in Hereford city centre into a vibrant space for exhibitions, workshops, and interactive events. This pilot initiative aims to demonstrate how creative projects can revitalise the high street and make a positive impact on the local community.

• Despite commentators labelling Homebase’s administration as the death of the high street (even though most were not even on the high street!!); CDS Superstores has acquired the Homebase brand and up to 70 stores. CDS plans to reopen 10 of these stores each month, rebranding them as The Range. Sainsbury’s has also acquired 10 of these Homebase stores, and B&Q has acquired a further 3 locations in Ireland.

• Castle Quarter in Norwich will offer pre-loved school uniforms for free on January 2nd and 4th, 2025, thanks to generous donations from the local community. Items, including blazers, trousers, skirts, and shoes, will be available in a range of sizes for children aged 5 to 18.

• Bangor will mark its 1500th anniversary in 2025 with a year-long celebration featuring cultural festivals, historical re-enactments, parades, and community events. The celebrations will kick off with a spectacular fireworks display at Garth Pier on New Year’s Eve, reflecting the city’s rich history and vibrant future.

• In 2024, Sostrene Grene opened 24 new stores across the UK, from Aberdeen to Brighton, including locations in Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2025, the brand will continue to expand, with flagship stores set to open in Colchester on January 17th and Leeds Trinity on January 24th. A new Canary Wharf store will follow soon after, and a London flagship at 12 Argyll Street is planned for the spring.

• Manchester Arndale has welcomed 23 new brands, including Go Outdoors, B&M, Space NK, and debut stores like Represent and Trailberg, enhancing its tenant mix and attracting more visitors.

• Buxton’s The Springs shopping centre has plans to be transformed into a vibrant hub with homes, workspaces, and independent shops, bars, and cafés, led by Capital & Centric.

• Southport’s first board game café, HARP Coffee and Games, has opened in the Market Quarter, offering a welcoming space with locally sourced coffee, homemade treats, and over 70 board games for all ages to enjoy.

• The Teenage Market is a UK initiative founded in 2012 that empowers young people to showcase their entrepreneurial and creative talents through market stalls and performances. With over 400 events held in 50+ towns and cities, including Carlisle, Sunderland and Margate, it has boosted footfall, spending, and community engagement, earning praise in the House of Lords' "High Streets: Life Beyond Retail?" report and from the High Streets Task Force. 2025 looks bright with exciting plans to provide even more opportunities for young people.

Reimagining Success: How Department Stores Are Evolving

Department stores, once the heart of the high street, are often associated with decline. Yet, many—especially independent, family-run businesses—continue to thrive. Iconic names like Selfridges, Liberty, Harrods, and John Lewis, alongside independents such as Jarrolds, Morleys, and Walker & Ling, demonstrate that these spaces remain adaptable and relevant. The closure of larger chains like Debenhams, BHS, and House of Fraser has also paved the way for innovation, allowing communities to reimagine these iconic sites.

Across the UK and Ireland, former department stores are being transformed to meet modern demands. London’s Market Hall West End has converted a former BHS into one of the UK’s largest food halls, while Uniqlo has revitalised Edinburgh’s Princes Street with fresh retail energy. In Chester, plans for an H Beauty promise a luxury shopping experience, while family-run Bradbeers has rejuvenated Salisbury’s former Debenhams with a revamped design and new amenities. Independents like Walker & Ling in Weston-super-Mare blend heritage and modernisation, supported by initiatives like the North Somerset Heritage Action Zone’s Shopfront Enhancement Scheme.

These transformations go beyond filling vacant spaces, reimagining their purpose to fit contemporary lifestyles. Examples range from NHS hubs and residential developments to cultural venues and independent markets. The Haven Community Hub in Westcliff-on-Sea integrates health services with dementia care and a café, while Norfolk’s Jarrolds has added a walk-in cheese room and wine bar to its food offerings. North Yorkshire’s Barkers has expanded in-store dining, recognising the appeal of food in enriching customer experiences. Newcastle’s Fenwick, meanwhile, celebrates local pride with pop-up collaborations, such as its partnership with Greggs.

Retail consultant Graham Soult, who recently spoke at a Power to Change panel on repurposing department stores, champions their ongoing relevance and reinvention. “These stores provide continuity and a sense of rootedness in a world that often feels unsettled,” he says. He highlights examples like Westcliff’s Havens, where the brand’s legacy is embedded in the architecture, as reasons why communities are so passionate about these buildings.

Soult also emphasises that the department store format is far from dead. Stores like Fenwick in Newcastle, Rutherfords in Morpeth, and Harveys of Halifax show how adapting to local audiences and offering unique in-store experiences can lead to success. “They understand their communities, invest in their spaces, and act as anchors within local retail ecosystems,” he says. “We should spend more time celebrating these live success stories and less time mourning what we’ve lost.”

Sam Walker, owner of Walker & Ling, echoes this sentiment: “Independent stores bring something people need—face-to-face interaction and good old-fashioned customer service. In a world of AI and Amazon Prime, there’s still something fantastic about meeting knowledgeable staff, trying before you buy, and returning with confidence.” However, he also acknowledges the challenges: “Setting up a high street store is expensive and daunting. We need to lower these barriers to help the next generation of businesses launch. Running a high street store is tough but rewarding—and can be a lot of fun!”

These examples, combined with the insights of advocates like Graham Soult and Sam Walker, demonstrate that with creativity, investment, and community focus, department stores can remain vibrant, adaptable spaces at the heart of our towns and cities.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Graham Soult and Sam Walker for their insights and contributions to this article.

Local Power and High Streets: Insights on the English Devolution White Paper

Chris Wade has written an insightful blog giving a detailed analysis of the English Devolution White Paper, which was released in December 2024. This outlines the Government’s vision to devolve power from Whitehall to local leaders and communities. Among its key proposals, the White Paper includes measures that could significantly impact high streets and town centres, such as strengthening Business Improvement Districts to ensure they operate effectively and replacing the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a stronger ‘Right to Buy’ for Assets of Community Value, creating a clearer path to local ownership of important spaces.

While these proposals aim to empower communities and support high street revitalisation, questions remain about whether the creation of larger “Strategic Authorities” will truly reflect the needs of smaller communities. To delve deeper into the implications of these proposals and what they could mean for local areas, we encourage you to read Chris Wade’s full blog here for a thoughtful and critical perspective.

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Chris Wade  for allowing me to reference his blog on devolution in this article.

What the HighStreetPositives Stakeholder Survey has Revealed so far…(Plus Your Chance to Win £200!)

We’re so pleased with the incredible response to the HighStreetPositives stakeholder survey so far! Voices from all across the high street ecosystem are already sharing what matters to them! But we want to hear from you too! Whether you work for a national retailer, a restaurant, an independent business, a landlord, an agent, a BID, a community-focused service, … or you’re just passionate about your high street, your input is vital to shaping the future of our high streets and how HighStreetPositives can help.

Here’s what we’re seeing so far:

• Business rates and vacancy rates remain top concerns for many.

• There’s strong interest in boosting footfall and creating more flexible, affordable spaces.

• A growing focus on the future role of high streets, with calls for more collaboration and strategic support.

• An average positivity rating of 3.7 out of 5, showing a sense of cautious optimism about the future, paired with a clear desire for action to drive positive change.

If you’d like to share your view please fill in the survey. It should take a maximum of 5 minutes to fill in. The survey is open until 31st January 2025, and we’d love to hear from you. As a thank you, there’s a chance to win £200 in the prize draw happening in early February!

👉 Please take the Survey Here

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