// Up to 40% of high street shops will need to reinvented over the next five years, according to local leaders
// Empty retail spaces must be repurposed for hospitality, health or leisure use or will “wither on the vine”, new data reveals
Up to 40% of high street shops will need to be repurposed over the next five years or will “wither on the vine” as demand for physical retail slows.
The need to reinvent retail space was listed as the biggest concern for local authorities, landlords, developers and other town centre management professionals, according to research by trade body Revo and consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).
About 61% of those surveyed believed that between 20% and 40% of retail space needs to be reinvented in the next five years for hospitality, health, leisure or civic use.
Only 12% claimed more space will need to be repurposed.
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Redevelopment reached a new high last year with 10,739 units repurposed compared to 9,139 in 2021 and 7,307 in 2019 before the pandemic, according to analysts at the Local Data Company.
It found a fifth of Debenhams stores, which closed in 2021 following the retailer’s collapse into administration, have been repurposed while 48.5% remain empty.
Revo chief executive Vivienne King said: “There is a danger that if our towns don’t transform then some will wither on the vine before the decade is out.”
LSH head of regeneration and planning Steve Norris said: “This shows the scale of the challenge town centres are facing and the radical surgery required.”
However, Norris explained it is not “all doom and gloom for town centres” as “we are entering into one of the most exciting and creative periods in their long history as it is not just about retail anymore”.
“It could be a town centre renaissance”.
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