Foreword
Holly Lewis, Mayor’s Design Advocate
For many of us, the Covid-19 pandemic is firmly in the rear-view mirror. However, its aftermath and impacts are still being felt in our communities, not least in our high streets. The common, everyday nature of high streets – 90 per cent of Londoners live within 10 a minute walk of one – meant that they were identified as a specific focus for the Mayor of London when defining post-pandemic responses. The High Streets for All (HSfA) Recovery Mission and corresponding Challenge sought to test new ideas to address both commonplace and hyper-local high street issues, to help high streets adapt to the challenges faced.
Reflecting on the delivered HSfA Challenge projects reveals a wide range of activities, from cultural events to mobile app development, from night markets to new community gardens. However, shared across all the projects has been a need to work collaboratively to deliver meaningful change and impact. This set of case studies are a chance to celebrate some of those who have participated, to share learning and to galvanise future action.
By their nature, high streets overlap and overlay many varied interests, communities and stakeholders. Sometimes this complexity is lamented, but the HSfA Challenge projects have turned it into a strength, each one of them harnessing local passion for place and steering this towards a set of common goals. Whilst the pandemic separated us, the HSfA Challenge has offered a key opportunity to bring people back together. This has led to a plethora of organisations securing funding through the Challenge; from BIDs to trusts to local authorities and community groups. Whether formally constituted or emergent, it is these organisational structures – and the relationships that they formalise – that will continue to guide progress and change in their local areas.
The ’challenge’ aspect of the programme has given these groups licence to experiment and test new approaches. Admittedly, resilience, flexibility and persistence have often been required – the Challenge has been challenging! It has taken courage to trust delivery partners, to admit that we don’t know all the answers and to work with new groups and types of groups. In this way, the programme has created fertile ground for new ideas to support high streets to become more inclusive, innovative and resilient. The re-launch of the High Streets Network will build on this momentum by establishing a community of practice, supporting delivery, growing networks and facilitating learning. Working together across the High Streets Network, and with diverse project partners, the Mayor of London will support ongoing adaptation, transformation and progress in high streets throughout the capital.
Connected Communities
Kilburn High Road, LB Camden and Brent
Despite being a major town centre with a strong independent business base and good public transport connections, Kilburn’s cross-borough geography has meant that its local community and voluntary sector have been struggling to articulate and galvanise high street action through a single voice.
With support from the High Streets for All Challenge and Power to Change, Camden and Brent Councils are collaborating through One Kilburn, a Community Improvement District pilot that tests new models of effective partnership to help tackle local challenges and opportunities. One Kilburn brings together otherwise dispersed projects, ideas and conversations through regular meetings and organised sub-groups that could, in time, lead to a constituted legal entity.
“We need to think about our neighbourhoods in the broadest sense, and to work in partnership. What other skills and ways of thinking can we bring in?” – Tom Baines, London Borough of Camden
One Kilburn has adopted a broad and inclusive approach, employing ‘community activators’ to reach out to residents and stakeholders who were previously under-represented within formal structures, and working with organisations that had been identified as potential 'changemakers' such as the Kiln Theatre and local learning and skills charity Kilburn State of Mind.
This engagement included organised walks around the area, a 'town hall' event to share ideas, and a 'toilet hackathon' in which residents considered how to address the shortage of public toilets, which was excluding many community members from the shops and activities on Kilburn High Road and nearby green spaces. A dedicated website provides a space to share and celebrate local activity and opportunities.
One Kilburn is now shaping and supporting projects locally. The partnership is working with Camden's library service to turn the local library into a community hub, having already partnered with Library of Things to introduce a kiosk where local residents can rent items which they might not otherwise afford, such as DIY tools, sewing machines and sound systems. Transport for London has supported the partnership by offering a temporary space in the railway arches. The studio space is managed by Camden Black Creatives who offered a fully equipped photography studio and events space at highly affordable rates to local users. The Mayor’s funding supported the refurbishment and fit out of the space. Now, through fund co-produced with One Kilburn members, the partnership is working to identify and fund community-led projects focused on a range of themes, including greening, health and street markets. One Kilburn will also shortly begin working with Camden Council to co-produce a plan for a vacant, locally cherished former community centre at 107 Kingsgate Road.
Responding to the Climate Emergency
Hackney Wick, LB Hackney / Tower Hamlets
Hackney Wick has an unconventional high street structure, with shops, cafés and other business uses dotted across the area’s streets and yards. There is a high concentration of light industry, fashion and food and drinks businesses, which produce food and disposable waste, and generate heavy delivery traffic. In an area of widespread change following the Olympics, the Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust (CDT) sought to support community interests through a focus on environmental issues as a subject which impacts everyone - whether through local flood risk, rising energy prices or wider concerns about the climate emergency.
“We needed to find an issue that caught everybody’s interests, but wasn’t being co-ordinated or delivered as effectively as it could be… The thing that came up time and time again was the environment.” – Alex Russell, Hackney Wick and Fish Island CDT
The first stage of HSfA funding was used to explore the potential of the area as a ‘testbed’ for approaches to supporting the circular economy. Businesses, community groups and residents have been working together with public authorities and landowners to understand and explore local waste issues, especially relating to fashion, and food and drink. A Circular Economy Strategy was delivered that draws together innovative local processes for taking waste from the area and re-purposing it in a new form, both with existing local businesses and newcomers, tackling the area’s very specific waste streams.
Supported by the HSfA Fund, two key sites supporting the area’s circular economy have now been secured:
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a Textile Re-use Hub at The Trampery, working with Peabody and Hill. A purpose-built building in the Fashion District, run by Yodomo (a sustainable fashion brand that reuses textiles). The Hub takes wholesale textile waste from upholstery businesses, and works with 30 makers to make new products. Funding for the second year of this programme, beyond HSfA funding, has recently been secured from a local development.
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The Loop: a Circular Economy Hub in a 10,000 sqft warehouse in Hackney Wick in partnership with University College London (UCL) to provide around 20 local businesses with space to process waste materials, develop circular business models and run educational programmes for the local community, with a focus on food and packaging waste.
Hackney Wick and Fish Island CDT have also taken opportunities to maximise the impact of the programme: the CDT worked with Rise Up East and the MyEnds programme to identify 6 local young people who wanted to develop their skills in the fashion sector and knowledge of circular processes at the Textile Re-use Hub. The Loop: Circular Economy Hub was advertised to SMEs across the city, successfully attracting zero carbon-led businesses to Hackney, demonstrating this is a model that could be replicated elsewhere. Bringing these businesses together is enabling knowledge and resource sharing across these SMEs to further innovation in reducing carbon. The CDT produced a feasibility study on a former car pound in Hackney Wick owned by London Borough of Hackney for a permanent space for a circular economy hub. The study has identified a mixed- use scheme that provides 28 policy compliant homes above 7,000 sqft of semi-industrial commercial units, activating the space for economic and community use. Their track record of working successfully with London Legacy Development Corporation, the Mayor of London, UCL, the London Borough of Hackney and a range of developers and landowners through the HSfA Challenge brings credibility to this mission.
Creating a Public Welcome
Angel Edmonton, LB Enfield
A community-led cultural programme has been working to change the narrative in Angel Edmonton, Enfield. Fore Street for All Community Interest Company (CIC) sought to foster a safe and welcoming night-time economy along the high street by bringing communities together through culture.
Struck by the disparity between Angel Edmonton – which has higher levels of deprivation and lower life expectancy - and wealthier parts of borough, Fore St for All CIC was formed by a collaboration of the neighbourhood forum, Residents of Edmonton Angel Community Together (REACT), local architects Fisher Cheng and arts organisation Hive Curates. The CIC – which was formed in direct response to the HSfA programme - seeks to bring positive change to an area which faces significant socio-economic challenges and to help steward the community through proposed large-scale future development.
“Those local relationships were really critical to the early success of the programme, because it was a brand new thing and nobody had seen culture on the high street like this before.” – Yuting Cheng, Fore St for All CIC
The CIC worked with local businesses, creatives and residents to deliver monthly events and workshops that celebrated Upper Edmonton and its diverse communities, from its base in the GLA-funded Fore Street Living Room Library. To date, they have brought together over 6,000 members of the community through 13 evening events and three festivals. Whilst the library was their hub, they have collaborated with and supported 16 other high street venues and as well as 128 creatives, individuals and businesses to host and deliver the programme. Activities have included live music, theatre, silent discos, spoken word and workshops with schools, to name a few.
Supporting the local economy has been a core principle of the programme, and the CIC employed a cultural programme curator and three local young people as programme assistants. Offering paid roles to local creatives for involvement in the programme delivered local returns and meant that local networks and contacts were invited into the process.
Their most recent event connected further along one of London’s longest high streets. Spanning borough boundaries, 'North London Lates' was delivered in partnership with Haringey’s ‘Made by Tottenham’. The summer festival offered a trail of events and activities, connecting the communities of Edmonton and Tottenham through music, art, circus performances and food.
Looking to the future, the CIC has recently supported the activation of (Good Growth Funded) Angel Yard, and is now partnering with Angel Yard operator, Launch It, and local, young businesses to deliver Makers Markets – continuing their legacy of changing the perceptions of under-used spaces in the area.
Innovative Places of Exchange
Norwood Road, LB Lambeth
The Station to Station Business Improvement District (BID) stretches from West Norwood to Tulse Hill, and covers a vibrant high street with a mix of independent retailers, chains and local amenities. The high street is adjoined by Lambeth’s largest industrial estate and the Parkhall Business Centre which both provide a combination of light industrial and office space. However, local research shows that a good supply of flexible and affordable workspace is a missing ingredient within the high street economy, and is especially in demand post-pandemic.
The HSfA Challenge Fund supported the BID and Lambeth Council to develop a high street workspace approach that encourages and enables landowners and landlords to respond to this demand. The resulting ‘Making High Streets Work’ strategy sets the right conditions to safeguard and increase the amount of workspace, building on the area’s unique characteristics to harness further investment and create a hub of creative business space.
“We have a group of landowners and managers of spaces that meet regularly to talk about what the issues are. That’s going to carry on. It’s a safe space where people can talk about what their issues are.” – Charlotte Ashworth, BID Manager, Station to Station, West Norwood and Tulse Hill Business Improvement District.
The strategy provides an in-depth exploration of the opportunity: the types of spaces which are currently in high demand and the practical delivery mechanisms and policy support that can, and should, be utilised to bring these spaces forward.
The local partnership has recently launched 'ChooSE27 workspace' - a matchmaking platform connecting those who have workspace with those who need places to work, creating an active network of like-minded businesses and landlords. This also provides useful data to landlords/owners, commercial agents, the council and prospective businesses what the local demand is.
Outputs have included:
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Hosting a series of events and walk arounds for previously absentee landowners – showing exemplars of how their assets could be utilised
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Developing branding of the area as a workplace destination
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Offering mini-grants to landowners to cover any fit-out costs that might arise to bring buildings back into use
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Establishing a collective of key stakeholders including the Station to Station BID, LB Lambeth, landlord/owners & businesses to work together towards the strategy
The BID was able to utilise its existing network to contact landowners and build relationships – enabling the partnership to diagnose the issue specific to the locality and to develop a focused response. The project exemplifies strong partnership working between the BID and the local authority – allowing each to focus on their strengths to support successful project delivery.
Generating Social Value
Church End, Brent
Church End is an area with complex challenges, including an unwelcoming high street and high rates of violent crime and anti-social behaviour. The high street has the highest vacancy rates in the borough, exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic. The Church End Growth Area Masterplan sets out a vision to unlock Church End’s potential. The community engagement to develop the masterplan paved the way for the HSfA Challenge Fund through highlighting a need for projects to address deprivation, community cohesion and youth engagement.
“We’re starting a whole new book for Church End town centre. It was nine organisations… we came together and said “Let’s show the good part of us!” – Rhoda Ibrahim, SAAFI
The HSfA project brings together a broad partnership of organisations, with LB Brent and the Somali Advice and Forum for Information (SAAFI) as lead partners, and the broader participation of the Church End Partnership, including United Borders, African Women Centre, Fashioning Your History, St Mary’s Church, Free the Forgotten, Brent MenCap, and Trussell Trust.
The Challenge Fund aims to re-strengthen Church Road post-pandemic, and to assist with the viability and delivery of two workstreams: the Youth Anchor community space, led by Brent Council; and a suite of innovative high street recovery test projects, led by SAAFI.
The main objective of the Youth Anchor is to deliver a bold and innovative high street anchor in Church Road, co-designed and co-produced by young people, that will help to diversify the high street offer as well as create a space where the community feels safe and welcome to gather, socialise and learn.
The high street recovery test projects aim to explore ways of diversifying and strengthening Church Road’s high street offer and increase footfall.
Projects include:
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Cooking Club: Unlocking a nearby commercial kitchen to test the appetite for and assess the viability of having a future community kitchen space on the high street.
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Wellness Bus: Design of a safe and accessible space for local people to receive help on key issues such as housing, mental wellbeing and physical health.
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St Mary's Food Garden and Green space: Improving the external spaces through lighting and growing beds, creating a safer and more active environment through gardening and community cohesion.
SAAFI is also leading capacity building amongst the seven community groups in the Church End Partnership. This includes establishing and implementing the right long-term governance model for future collaboration, thus creating an independent voice in the local community, tasked with driving forward long-term future change in Church End with the support of the council.
Tomorrow’s Markets
Bexleyheath, LB Bexley
Bexleyheath town centre serves as an important hub for communities of varied backgrounds. During the day, the town typically caters for a mature clientele and young parents. Between 3pm and 6pm in term times, the age bracket lowers with the influx of approximately 3,500 students from surrounding secondary schools. Pressures resulting from their differing needs causes tension between these groups and impacts local businesses.
The HSfA programme sought to bridge the gaps between these groups, and between the daytime and evening economy of the town centre. A team led by We Made That, working with POoR Collective and Bohemia Place Market, delivered a wide-ranging programme that included:
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Five monthly night markets delivered over the summer, featuring both local and established businesses, which attracted over 3,000 people to the first event
“The night markets were successful, but we’ve also learnt a lot. The electricity wasn’t up to scratch, so we’ve now invested jointly with the BID in that, and they’ll be running more markets in the summer” – Martin Pinnell, London Borough of Bexley
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Intergenerational co-design workshops encouraging dialogue between stakeholders (e.g. involving school children and members of local community groups).
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Temporary public realm prototypes - testing out ideas to inform the longer-term strategy and delivery plan
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Youth enterprise challenge - a programme for young people from local secondary schools to develop design and entrepreneurial skills, and to partake in market activity
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Young curators event - programme for local young people to take up space in the town centre, through a talent show event that they curated in the night market
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Development of a longer-term strategy, the Lessons for the Future report, to ensure that learning from the programme can inform future change.
Taken together, the programme resulted in a showcase of the positive value that young people could bring to the high street and built networks that were previously non-existent. The night markets had a demonstrable positive impact on footfall and dwell time in the town centre, and recent and planned business openings reflect a more balanced presence of food and beverage businesses in the town centre, as tested through the markets. The Bexleyheath Business Improvement District (BID) is continuing the success of the night markets, with a new series of evening markets taking place from Summer 2024.
The HSfA programme was applied for by the newly formed High Streets for All (HSfA) Partnership - a consortium of local organisations including Bexley Council, Bexleyheath BID, local schools, churches, street pastors, police, Bexley Youth Advice, and Bexleyheath Job Centre. This group were involved in the entire project, reviewing the proposals through regular meetings and supporting the promotion of initiatives brought forward by the team. Having the HSfA partnership in place provides future custodians of the outputs of the project, and of longer-term change in Bexleyheath.
