Decline of the East's high streets laid bare in new report

While shops in the region ultimately went unscathed, the slow decline of many local high streets has now been laid bare in a new report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

'The Future of the High Street' reveals multiple factors threatening the future of the East's once-thriving shopping quarters.

Shop closures, resulting in unattractive vacant units, are a major concern.  Poor parking management and provision is also causing problems, along with inadequate public transport. 

THE FUTURE OF THE HIGH STREET

The report finds that almost three quarters of the region's small business owners have reported retail store closures on their local high street since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two thirds have seen closures in hospitality, with more than half saying bank branches have shut. Nearly three quarters also reported vacant units. 

Business owners in the East say that high street access is a key concern, with 52pc claiming parking facilities are badly managed and 40pc saying that public transport is not good enough. 

Many business owners in the region are now calling for investment from local authorities to help promote the East, improve infrastructure and boost public transport across the region. 

Candy Richards, the FSB's development manager for East Anglia, said: “It’s important that small firms across the east of England are provided with the right environment, infrastructure and flexibility to be successful – and in turn help grow their local economy.

Candy Richards, Federation of Small Businesses development manager for East Anglia (Image: Supplied)

“Local authorities can play a pivotal role in improving the experience of a high street, encouraging more people to visit, shop and invest there, and we look forward to working closely with them.

“Our high streets have been through many changes and will continue to evolve, and that’s why it’s so important that the small businesses at their heart are well-equipped for the future.”

'ZOMBIE TOWNS'

The region has also seen a rise in the number of so-called 'zombie towns', scarred by empty high streets lined with deserted shops. 

In Lowestoft more than a quarter of shops are lying empty, according to an East Suffolk Council report released earlier this year. This is almost double the national vacancy rate. At the time of the report, 96 of the seaside town's 366 shops were abandoned.

Lowestoft high street (Image: Sonya Duncan)

But there is still hope for Lowestoft's high street, with work already underway on a £24.3m regeneration project set to transform the town. 

This will see the creation of a new cultural quarter and three landmark buildings, designed to drive footfall and reinvigorate the town centre, as well as a new multi-storey car park.

Signage in Lowestoft (Image: Sonya Duncan)

BANK CLOSURES

Bank branches are disappearing fast, thanks to the rise of online and mobile banking. 

Banks across the UK have closed 6,055 branches since 2015, at a rate of around 53 each month, according to Which?. This represents 60pc of the branches that were open at the start of 2015. 

UK bank branch closures since 2015 (Image: Which?)

Some areas in the East, such as the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency, no longer have a single physical bank branch. 

Elsewhere in the region, there is just one bank left in the Norwich North constituency and three in north Norfolk, areas which have both lost more than 80pc of their branches since 2015.

Lloyds has announced it will close its Gorleston High Street branch in January 2025, making the seaside spot Norfolk’s largest town without a high street bank.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE? 

The FSB hopes to work with the government and local authorities to protect the long-term sustainability of the East's high streets.

But the ever-rising numbers of empty shops and disappearing bank branches leaves the future of our shopping streets uncertain.