High streets are vital to local communities’ sense of pride and place. However, Onward research has shown that almost two-thirds of local authorities have seen their high street workforce decline, and the proportion of empty high street stores hit a record high of 14.5% last year. Polling shows that over half of people who think their high street has declined cite the closure of independent shops and more boarded up premises as the reason. If levelling up is to succeed, we need to find new ways to breathe life into our high streets.
This roundtable event will explore how to revive our high streets, including through the power of technology. Innovation in the digital world is accelerating and consumer habits are adapting with these emerging innovations.
The event will bring together senior policymakers, industry professionals and members of parliament to discuss the role of digital forums in supporting and strengthening our local high streets.
This is a private roundtable event. By invitation only.
Key Speaker
Dehenna Davison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
