In recent posts, I have chosen to focus on the current status of the high street where I live. I may be deluding myself, but the responses to the existing discussion strongly suggest that a core nucleus of people care passionately about our town. That is as good a starting point as any.
I received a really well worded response from someone this morning citing the strengths and weaknesses of the existing high street. The respondent made the point that high streets such as the one in Denbigh will ultimately become venues for local services such as cafes, hairdressers, nail salons, bookies etc. It was also pointed out how valuable it can be to have a local butcher. Instead of having to buy your meat pre-packed in the weight dictated by the large supermarket, the local butcher can supply your exact need. If you are part of a couple or living alone, this can be a massive difference. So, instead of buying 500g of minced beef in a plastic container, your local butcher can supply you with a lesser amount with far less packaging. In most of the arguments I've heard so far bemoaning the future of our high street, many people seem to overlook the mind boggling amount of plastic packaging foisted upon us by the large supermarkets. I detest it and also worry about it's impact on our environment. It takes up to a thousand years to degrade in some instances so sustaining such an approach is actually irresponsible.
Today, I intend to focus on two towns of comparable size to illustrate that the high street in Denbigh is faced with an opportunity rather than a threat. I will describe the first town to you. In 2001, it had a population of 9,458. This is very similar to that of Denbigh. It has a famous castle just like Denbigh. It has a well known supermarket on the periphery of the town centre just like Denbigh. It has limited car parking in the centre of the town just like Denbigh. It has a healthy quota of pubs just like Denbigh. It has a fair smattering of charity shops being run by a willing army of volunteers just like Denbigh. It has a small theatre just like Denbigh. It also has a predominance of independent shops which are extremely well supported by the local community. Like Denbigh it also has an area which has not had the rub of the green when it comes to jobs and opportunity. The town I refer to here is Ludlow.
On a recent placement which lasted for 15 weeks, I had the opportunity to observe Ludlow at close quarters. A number of aspects were immediately noteworthy. The first thing to note was the absence of empty shop premises on the main high street. The second was the large number of local shoppers on foot. They were enabled by large pedestrian areas in the town centre. It was very pleasing to see such a high ration of independent shops to multi national chains. There was no doubt that the former were in the ascendency in Ludlow. Aside form their impressive variety, their service to the public was wonderful to see. They did have a moderate sized Tesco but you always got the feeling that the Tesco remained secondary to the town centre. That was because planning for the Tesco was only granted with the town centre in mind. The local planners did not make life easy for the Tesco and have restricted the extent to which it can impact on their high street. They got the important bit right - they recognised the absolute importance of a vibrant high street with respect to the local economy which they serve. Their castle is of a similar age to the one in Denbigh but is utilised far more. It is the centre piece of most of their festivals and is situated right next to their highly prized daily street market which they have fought so hard to maintain. It is to their credit that they have done so because they now boast a thriving high street as a result. In other words, they have resisted too much change for the sake of change and sought to retain the character and strength of their high street.
Moving a little closer to home, the second town which I would like to highlight is also notable for it's thriving street market. At the time of writing, it too boasts a healthy high street with very few empty retail premises. Until recently, it has only allowed a moderate sized Tesco on the periphery in such a way as to maintain the integral strength of it's high street. Mold is down the road in Flintshire and the local council charged with the responsibility of sustaining the vibrant high street look as though they are now going to grant planning to a large Sainsburys as well. That aside, the town has held it's own even with the added threat of Tesco. The market is held twice weekly and is well supported and attended. As with Ludlow, the variety and quality of the independent shops is excellent even if the ratio of multi national chains is slightly higher.
It should not be too difficult for Denbigh to observe the towns I have highlighted and seek to emulate some of their more sensible strategies. Just because our high street has sported empty shops recently doesn't mean they can't be filled provided the will exists to support them and the shops themselves seek to offer all that is good about the independent sector; great quality and service. The re-introduction of a street market shouldn't even be open to debate in Denbigh and I would strongly advocate more pedestrian zones in the town centre. I would finally play the trump card all day long - Mold doesn't have a castle like Denbigh. Ludlow does and uses it for all it's worth. Denbigh should be doing likewise because many other towns would give anything to have such an obvious asset.
The forthcoming St. David's Day festival will be great for Denbigh and I'm really looking forward to going along to support the town. But the town needs this sort of event to be the norm - not the exception.
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