What next for the high street?

The conundrum of how to keep our high streets alive has been challenging central and local government for years. And then coronavirus swept through the country, hollowing out our towns and cities and transforming, at break-neck speed, the way we live, work, and socialise.

With home-working here to stay and online shopping continuing to dominate, what does this renewed focus on ‘living local’ mean for the high-street? And what does the future hold for our businesses, retailers, and offices which were once the cornerstones of our town and city centres?

On December 3rd 2020, we were delighted to hold the first in a series of highly-engaging webinars, hosted by Cratus Chief Executive, Nick Kilby, focused on the evolution of our high-street.

Panellists

Danny Thorpe

Councillor Danny Thorpe is Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and has responsibility for the overall political leadership, direction, and vision of the Council alongside the portfolio of Community and Corporate Services. He is also the Executive member for Business, Europe and Good Growth at London Councils which represents London’s 32 borough councils and the City of London.

Kate Ives:
Kate is Development Director for Wates Residential. She is responsible for growing the business’ investment in new developments across London and

the South East, building on a portfolio of partnership housing and joint ventures. Kate works across new and existing projects to ensure they deliver to Wates’ sustainable investment criteria. She believes business should be a force for good, which she accomplishes through creating social value programmes that are integrated into project business plans. She is one of the founding members of Women in Wates and is also a Board Member for The Housing Forum, a cross-industry group driven by the vision A quality home for all.

Jonathan Martin:

Jonathan is a Chartered Surveyor and his current role is Director of Inward Investment. He spearheads the focus on securing new Inward Investment, which comprises attracting private sector (local, national and international) investment – across the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The investment growth sectors include regeneration, housing, business, and employment & skills – in order to provide new homes, jobs, with facilities to support town centres and high streets.

Zach Wilcox:

Zach is an economist in Arup’s City Economics team. He is a full member of the Institute for Economic Development and certified Better Business Cases Practitioner. Zach’s recommendations have been adopted by city councils and in Whitehall to shape policies around economic development and inclusive growth, and his business case work has helped secure hundreds of millions of pounds of investment for clients. He co-authored Arup’s Ten ideas for local authorities to help rebuild economies after COVID-19.