How has the High Street changed in recent years?

 

This article and interactive from the BBC News website is particularly useful in helping to answer that question and is particularly relevant for our work with Year 7.

Enter a postcode to see which changes have occurred in your local area.

There is also a useful summary showing the changing fortunes of certain shops and services.

The data has been collected by the Ordnance Survey.

Ely High Street mirrors some of these changes to some extent.

Departing Department Stores

This is a timely and important document for many of our cities.

Our department stores have faced unprecdented challenges in the last few years. 

We explore the changing High Street with Year 7.

We have lost some familiar names that have been around for decades, and this has also led to large and beautiful buildings sitting empty and under threat as they are unlikely to find new tenants in a hurry due to their size and central locations. The report includes stores from national chains such as Debenhams to more local and regional examples. In Norwich, for example, we have the Jarrold's stores which are an important part of the town centre's retail  offering. 

Many of these buildings could be described as 'cathedrals of commerce' with important architectural value.

Produced by Save Britain's Heritage.

Thanks to this tweet for the tipoff to the report, which is free to download.

Report issued by @SAVEBrit focuses on the crisis facing Britain’s handsome and varied department stores, urging imaginative reuse of our ‘cathedrals of commerce'. Full report here: https://t.co/u6oTeULz5c pic.twitter.com/2bvHg18Dom

— Philip Downer (@frontofstore) April 5, 2022

Follow the group on Twitter.