Continuing our popular series on Supporting Historic High Streets, this series of webinars will explore the future of city and town centres, the stores that once anchored them, and the role of place-making.

Well before the pandemic, the High Street’s battle against out-of-town and online shopping was in full flow, and ideas about adding leisure activities and a wider range of experiences and uses were coming to the fore. High streets have always reflected our built and social heritage – attracting trade and customers to the latest places, and creating centres to share ideas or just people-watch. Yet in recent years, the characteristics of ‘clone towns’ predominated, with towns vying for the same high street chains to take retail space.

With the radical shift in footfall and spending patterns in 2020-21, the pace of change in town centres has accelerated, bringing a huge challenge to most town and city centres. Yet the public realm and heritage assets have acquired new value and status, and the importance of place-making for everyone is evident.

This webinar series will look these opportunities and potential threats, and aim to rethink the role of town centre retail space and how to bring life back to historic high streets.

For professionals and communities alike, this is an important theme in the debate about future town centres.

Delegates will learn about:

• How to reuse and repurpose existing retail units and department stores

• Strategies being adopted by developers to bring new activities to landmark buildings

• How to rethink public spaces to attract people and address changing priorities and interests

• Other uses taking up vacant shop units and city centre buildings to bring change

• The role of local heritage assets and social history in creating new visions for town and city centres.