CommonSpace spoke to leading voices in community regeneration to find solutions to ‘high street decline’
COMMUNITIES are already working together to create vibrant town centres and more should follow suit, community ownership and regeneration organisations have argued, responding to concerns around ‘high street decline’.
Figures published last week by consultants PwC indicated that 290 high street shops in Scotland closed in 2017, leading to concerns for what lies ahead for Scotland’s town centres.
However, Social Enterprise Scotland, Scotland Towns Partnership, Community Land Scotland and the Plunkett Foundation told CommonSpace that the future is in the hands of communities, and it may well be the better for it.
Instead of focusing on falling numbers of big retailers on the high streets, these organisations suggest that real improvements can be – and already are being – made to town centres through investment in social enterprise, community ownership, co-operatives, and community wealth development.
To read the rest of this article, please visit: Don’t mourn the loss of high street shops – replace them with something better, community ownership advocates say
