How the British high road can get its groove again

Lucy Alexander

television presenter

I presented the BBC One reveal homes below the Hammer for 13 years, filming at a whole lot and lots of of houses everywhere the country. When our television crew arrived at a new region, the director would ship a digicam group off to get some shots of the local enviornment â€" the railway station, the native park, the high road. 

All too commonly the digicam guys would come returned unable to find a town centre to film. The retail outlets were all boarded up, the high road changed into deserted or there just wasn’t one â€" at the least, not any further. 

It is not astonishing that the enterprising younger americans in areas like this disappear off to huge cities the first chance they get, leaving their domestic towns languishing with little hope of improvement. I grew up in Kent and noticed the fall of cities comparable to Margate and Folkestone first hand; as soon as thriving seaside motels, they spent years within the doldrums when the vacationer pound abandoned the English coast. 

but now, slowly and punctiliously, they are once again discovering their mojo. There is not any effortless formulation for regenerating struggling cities and inspiring americans to stay and put down roots, but I believe that the excessive street is a pretty good place to beginning. 

frequently in the geographical centre, a excessive road is the coronary heart that makes a town beat â€" and that vibe spills out into all of the surrounding areas. 

Caffeine repair: a native café is just as much about having a chat as a hot cuppa credit: Getty

An empty coronary heart is a beautiful depressing component to have. Filling deserted store areas and encouraging independent retailers with fascinating hire fees is essential because they plug the gaps between the chain shops, and also makes looking small a manageable choice. It also permits locals to create an individual identity for a city â€" and from there a sense of ownership. 

each person additionally needs a espresso store, and not just for a caffeine repair. a native café is just as a whole lot about having a chat as a hot cuppa. It’s definitely the “up to date pub”: a communal area the place locals can go to join and consider like part of a community.

Margate old town is an ideal instance of the place all this has labored very smartly. It had beautiful slender lanes and quirky corners, but the streets have been quite shabby except little particular person retail outlets and eateries started opening and began a sequence reaction that slowly spread through surrounding streets. And when these frightening instances of coronavirus are behind us, small independents  will need our custom, money and commitment greater than ever. 

It isn't easy, of path, and it takes lots of energy and lengthy-term considering â€" but it surely proves it is viable. 

Digital connectivity is also essential for city regeneration. Superfast information superhighway pace is an absolute have to so that you can dwell local but installation a global enterprise and work at home â€" or from that amazing new espresso shop on the high street. 

And, of direction, quickly connections to the outside world are key. Kent is blessed with a excessive-velocity rail link that gets you into London from Folkestone in round 50 minutes, which is faster than which you can get to the capital from elements of Surrey. It’s difficult to argue with that. 

And what about property? Margate’s answer to the housing problem become to position a ban on the subdivision of the massive old boarding residences into bedsits in favour of turning them into brilliant family homes. 

These residences had been often semi-derelict however filled with personality, charm and space â€" and made gorgeous buildings for a fraction of the price of these in London or more high priced materials of Kent. they are within the centre of town, a short stroll from that very identical high road.

None of this is quick or convenient but, if all these factors come together, perhaps these towns can birth to suppose like domestic and not just somewhere where you grew up and then left.

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