The future of the High Street in the Isle of Man and across the UK has never been so uncertain.  Every town on the island reflects a pattern across the UK with boarded up shops, closing down sales, discount and charity shops.  Quite a sad picture – primarily driven by the economic downturn but also by our growing love of internet shopping.

Thebestof are conducting a nationwide survey looking at what people really want from their town centres.  The results should be interesting both on a local basis and compared to the UK picture.  We have of course our own unique issues on the island due to our physical isolation but we’re sure there will be food for thought from the national results as well as those related to the Isle of Man.

Our view is that we need to have a realistic vision in mind as to how retail can develop.  High Street rents are high which gives a massive barrier to entry to small business entry at the moment.  Goods on display on the High Street at the moment are the same mix that can be bought (probably at a discount) on the internet.  So what is the solution?  We visited to York a couple of months ago and were amazed to find the town centre bubbling with shoppers even though it was a very cold day.  Obviously there are considerable tourist attractions in York but what people seemed to enjoy was the large market area, the numerous food stalls and street entertainment.  None of this was provided by ‘the big guys’ but by small businesses that had been given an affordable platform to sell their goods and services.  Going further afield we have seen similar retail success in Singapore where ‘food courts’ abound.  Food courts in the Far East mean lots of individual small units producing one or two dishes with large seating areas – all affordable start ups and great for the consumer . 

If we want towns to live and breathe again, with the combined benefit of giving people small business opportunities surely this has to be the way forward.  There are a number of popular farmers markets running on the island but not central to the ‘High Streets’ perhaps making it accessible for these to be in town centres would be a good start in developing the York approach to retail.  The knock on effect is that you get more footfall which is good for all retails not just the market stalls.

You can have your say in thebestofsurvey here www.thebestof.co.uk/survey . You will be entered into a draw with a £500 prize to spend in a bestof business of your choice.