Local innovation key to High Street survival

Wonderful views of High Row and the clock tower from your lounge window then stepping out onto the market place from a building that has played an integral role in the history of the town. Sounds idyllic, but it is happening.

It is Sunday morning, I’m watching Sophy Ridge on SKY and there’s the Chancellor stating that as the retail sector shrinks due to its strangulation by online shopping, high streets across the country will need to change, moving from predominantly retail areas into a more mixed-use future.

The statement comes as no surprise, it makes perfect sense. Our town centres are dying as shopping in the comfort of your own cosy armchair squeezes the lifeblood out of those areas we have been so used to browsing and buying from over the years.

If you want to see it first-hand just walk around the same very streets looking upward and you’ll soon see rows upon rows of ‘To Let’ and ‘For Sale’ signs. Recently I struggled to get my head round the number of empty properties up for sale in Yarm High Street, a cute looking and affluent small market town on the outskirts of Teesside, named in the Domesday Book and the home of many Premier League footballers.

This need to ‘repurpose’ our high streets is not something we have not already identified, and I am delighted to be one of the first movers in the north east, with my partners in RDBM. We see a bright future for some of our town centres and, even though it’s a small part to play, we are currently investing half a million pounds into Darlington Market Place as we see it as having a bright future. That money has brought back into local ownership the historic John Lear & Son’s building on Horsemarket and we now start the process of converting the 250 year old structure from old commercial office space into high-quality executive style inner-city living.

4-6 Horsemarket, which currently houses Pizza Hut on the Market Place, had been under London ownership until its recent purchase. The 18th Century building was famous as the home of J Lear & Sons ironmongers, a 200-year-old Darlington business and it was the birthplace of the Darlington Literary Club. Lear’s business expanded to take over a local brush-maker next-door on Chancery Lane, the final brush maker Mr Palphramand retired in 1956 a decade before the end of Lear’s after a career working with hot tar and boar’s hair.

The building also served as the backdrop to King George V and Queen Mary’s visit to the town in 1913 and stands just a few doors away from the birthplace of ‘Father of the Railways’ Edward Pease. The upper floors of the building has been used predominantly for office space over recent decades.

But there’s much beauty there. The front of the building has amazing views of High Row, the clock tower and its side windows overlook Pease’s garden. It is wonderful to know that the people of the town will soon be able to own a slice of that history as well as live in hi-spec comfort yet walk out of the door and straight onto the market place.

Work starts this week by local tradesmen to transform Lear’s former shop into eleven high quality inner-city apartments which have been specifically planned to attract high-level residential use of the town centre. But it is apparent this switch will not be the elixir of life for all high streets.

We looked at many locations around the Teesside areas and while we think this works wonderfully for Darlington other solutions are needed for other towns, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Saying that, innovation is. As Darlington councillor Chris McEwan was reported as saying this week “We welcome innovative thinking that will transform underused space into something that will help the town centre by adding to the number of people that use its facilities regularly.”

So the challenge has been set, lets innovate! Local innovation by local developers who 'get' local issues but see local opportunities and provide local solutions for local people can make a massive difference... locally. Garry, Martin, Vivender and myself at RDBM are already looking for the next innovative solution for other towns in the area as we spend the next eight months bringing Darlington our little slice of local inner-city innovation.