Retail parks, not vape shops or betting parlours, are the real threat to Britain's high streets, an expert has warned, as these out-of-town complexes have been growing for 60 years.
Expert points to retail parks as the true culprit
Writing in the Financial Times, academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari argued that while Andy Burnham focuses on curbing vape shops and betting parlours, the actual force killing off the high street has been quietly growing for six decades. The warning comes as shoppers mourn the recent loss of household names like Wilko, Ted Baker, Homebase and Paperchase.
Ms Bari argued that retail trade hasn't vanished - it has simply driven out of town. "Some of it seems to have driven to the nearest out-of-town retail park," she said, pointing out that these massive commercial complexes are now "hot property" across the UK.
Retail parks: a 60-year shift
Britain's first retail park opened in 1964 in West Bridgford, Nottingham, meaning the shift away from traditional town centres has been gathering momentum for 60 years. Today, of the UK's 407 million square feet of retail park space, a mere 1.8% is vacant, underscoring the massive demand as supermarkets, clothing chains and discount giants elbow each other for space.
Even as plans progress for fresh developments - including a new £20million retail zone south of Derby set to feature an Aldi and a Starbucks drive-through - politicians are accused of looking in the wrong direction. Ms Bari highlighted Middlebrook Retail & Leisure Park in Horwich, Bolton - the UK's largest at 676,000 square feet - noting it sits just a 45-minute drive from Burnham's offices at Number 10 North.
Community cannot be replicated
While big-box stores like B&Q, The Range and TK Maxx offer convenience, Ms Bari warned these edge-of-town complexes lack the social fabric that once held local communities together. Describing them as "an emblem of impersonal modern life," Bari writes that retail parks are "designed by people who seem never to have met a pedestrian," adding: "It's hard to form a community when you're loading up your boot at B&Q."
While acknowledging that Mr Burnham's instincts to tackle hollowed-out high streets are right, Ms Bari stressed that town centres provide a sense of belonging that out-of-town car parks can never replicate. "Retail parks are an emblem of impersonal modern life," she said. "They are a reminder that what made the high street special wasn't the stuff we bought, but the fact that, for a while, we were together."
