The state of UK high streets has become shorthand for economic decline and the need to “level up”. And as small businesses face staggering rises in energy costs and households struggle with a cost-of-living crisis, this is likely to continue.
The “death of the high street” has become a well-worn political and economic trope. Government interventions have ranged from the Portas Review in 2011 to new powers in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to repurpose vacant shops. Most recently, Rishi Sunak made reducing numbers of empty shops part of his pitch for the Conservative Party leadership.
