Thinking outside the box - a better use for our High Streets, housing, cafes, bars

NotSpaghetti, cinema still in Holyhead and a nice little theatre/gallery but desperately needs investment.
Llangefni also going downhill in spite of being the county town.
Most will shop in Bangor or Llandudno for anything large such as furniture or decent clothes.
trisher I take your point about 50 year olds still having family at home, maybe change it to 60 year olds. I think what I had in mind was a little up market accommodation to bring money and therefore business in to town centres and free up the suburbs for families.
It was just a thought and I hoped to stimulate some positive ideas, most have given good ideas or constructive criticism.
We’ve got to do something so that the tumbleweed doesn’t take over.

Where do people shop now Peardrop? Llangefni?
There used to be a market hall in Holyhead when we were close, wholefoods, toyshop, all sorts... and the Cybi cinema!! (No longer surf about spellings do apologies!).

Live in a first floor flat over a shop-no thank you. This idea that over 50's don't have famly is ridiculous as well. Most women are having children later so in their 50s they have teenagers or students or (and this will increase with the pandemic) 20+ who can't afford to leave home. There are flats over the shops on our High Street mostly brought by young couples. Underneath are coffee shops, restaurants and charity shops with the occasional building society. People complain because there isn't a decent greengrocers, but things like that don't make money.
It is considered that working from home may change things with people choosing to live in cheaper areas if they don't need to commute every day.

Agree with all this. But with lack of outside space could create nice green communal gardens/squares like in central London like Cadogan Gatdens etc for residents use.

I do wish planners took into account that we don’t all have cars! and that buses are often poorly run and here in the south ridiculously expensive.
I am seriously considering getting a car again ( having previously stopped to try and save money) Because there are so many places I can’t get to without the car or which take much too long on a bus. My youngest daughter doesn’t drive yet (taking lessons) and we are both struggling with taking her 3 young children out to local attractions because often there are no buses or the journey involves multiple changes so we have been very limited.
I worry that if town centres only have independent boutique shops and trendy cafes there will be nowhere for the car less to pop for a pint of milk or a loaf of bread!

Totally agree. Here in Scarborough it looks so down at heel Just wish people took pride in their shops especially outside They need to wash the pavements like abroad. We have so much seagull mess which smells dreadful.

Older people living on first floors? Hope you're putting lifts in everywhere.
Personally I would hate to live in a town centre flat. Especially above a bar.
Thanks but no thanks.

Not ideal for ‘over 50s with kids’ no, hopefully those with children would take advantage of the freed up houses in the suburbs as the older, child free people moved in to town

No good for the over 50s with kids though

You’ve Just described my local town! Still too many empty shops but most the time when they close another coffee shop or restaurant opens. Flats above shops , and apartments central to town, parks and houses walking distance.

This is nothing new, it's already happened. There's always been flats above shops. High Streets are full of cafes and bars that used to be shops already. Smaller parades of shops have disappeared with the ground floor shop being made into flats. Pubs and churches have been converted to flats.
Around 25% of households, including me, do not have a car. We need to keep some local high street shops.

I have always thought this would be an excellent idea, Peardrop. A beautiful medieval market town near me has a mixture of houses and shops along its extensive high street, and it seems to work well. For older people there is the convenience of going just a few yards for daily essentials, the street is busy and interesting, and there are no unsightly vacant shops - they are either re let swiftly or become residential.

As someone else said, let's hope there are some town planners around.

Great ideas. For older people not having to drive or get a bus to have a day out is definitely a plus.
I would love to live somewhere like that.

Great ideas Antonia, trees, tables and benches and, importantly, litter bins.
Lots of small town high streets are possibly narrow enough to be covered from one side to the other so that outdoor dining would be viable even in winter. Perhaps covered in a few areas only and at first floor level with live green roofs so that the properties above look down on greenery.

The children's play areas could have someone (vetted of course) to keep an eye on children while parents shop. Once in Marseille, many years ago when our girls were small, there was an old lady in a playground whose function was to push young children on the swings.

The large empty shops could be converted into flats, surely. If planners used a portion of the building for accommodation, and demolished some in order to create green spaces. Admittedly I have no idea how a portion of a building can be demolished, but someone must know.
Agree about the need for independent shops, they should include a good butcher, fishmonger, small grocery store and fruit & veg shop, haberdashery, craft shops. Also cafes for people to meet up. Picnic tables and benches, trees, plenty of litter bins, designated play areas for children, post office, bank, free or low cost transport with plenty of stops.
All this and more, with upper floor housing sounds great to me.

Peardrop I agree about the problems with alcohol and drugs.

I would be concerned about parties in the flats with young people that may go on till early hours of the morning. I think young people should have a good time but hearing from people who live next door to them in flats it can be difficult if you are older and not in the best of health.

I remember my elderly neighbours apologising in advance for a party they were having. The party was from 1pm till 6pm!

AGAA4 lots seem to be concerned with the idea of mixing age groups because of noise and rowdiness, perhaps some sort of by-law where licensing hours where cut to 10.30 pm and no noise on the streets after 11 pm, perhaps an hour later at weekends. If the youngsters were not happy they'd go in to the cities. Don't know if it would be do-able but we need to try something.
Biggest problem in our country, in my opinion, is the poor relationship with alcohol and drugs.

Peardrop the sort of living you describe would suit me apart from mixing ages.
It would be a good idea to have retirement apartments in a shopping area with all the necessities for people in the older age group eg medical centre, coffee shops, restaurants with lots of small shops and art galleries for browsing.
There were flats built in an out of town mall near where I live and are occupied by younger people. Debenhams was the biggest store there and that has gone now so it will, I think, be a bit forlorn now.

I have been thinking along the same lines. It needs a clear national strategy to move away from trying to maintain the "staus quo" on the High St and completely rethink what s needed etc. . It is such an obvious partial solution re needing more housing too!

I live in the middle of a town. The council are squeezing the zone of parking we've already paid for, making it smaller than it was - parking is just a cash cow to them. We all have to street park. Some of us have paid twice as the only spaces available are in the next zone, so we have to buy a ticket even though we've got a residents' parking permit.
It's not that parking is exorbitant, it's there are enough parking places.

...inasmuch as investment...

Something odd, unusual but welcome, is happening in our town.

Just before lockdown there was a real upsurge in demand for greener shopping. Three new small shops opened. They were scattered around the town but still all within half a mile of each other. They sold homemade bread, cakes, biscuits etc,. a small supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, pickles, chutneys, jams, cheeses, pulses, washing out liquids, soaps, etc...you get the picture? No plastic to be seen.

Then came lockdown and they all got together and set up a website called We Deliver Xxxxxx (within a couple of weeks) encouraging other businesses to do the same. I think I’ve mentioned this before.

Suddenly we were all aware of small local businesses we never really knew existed. Some operating from home. Whether you wanted afternoon tea for two, or your curtains altered, designer bread or designer ale, garden manure or chicken feed, flour or flowers, cheese or chess pieces, suddenly there they were offering produce and services when everywhere else had closed up shop.

They have all flourished during lockdown and loyal customers are continuing to use them.

Unfortunately too manny high streets have prostituted themselves to the big chain stores in the past and these drove out the small businesses - aided and abetted by local planners and (let’s admit it) us with our lazy shipping habits.

Then when the big stores pulled out there is nothing left.

We have been lucky in my town as the only two big stores are Boots and Smiths. But gillybob and Peardrops are right inasmuch bad investment is needed to lure back small businesses and support them until they are established.

This is now planning policy in New Zealand I believe, to bring life to town centres.