Finding new uses for shops and other public buildings could be key to maintaining the UK's High Streets, research from Newcastle Building Society suggests.
The North East mutual, which has widely talked up its efforts to bring services back to the High Street, commissioned the survey of more than 2,000 people around the country which revealed 80% of people found face-to-face customer service important. At the same time, just over half (52%) of respondents said a bank or building society branch near them had closed recently.
The Society said "multi-purposing" - a trend of mixing retail locations with services - could be a potential solution to the problem. Its survey found more than 50% of people had noticed the trend which has seen post offices double as shops, convenience shops used for parcel drop offs and collections, and supermarkets hosting pharmacies. And just under half would like to see more of it.
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