High Streets In Great Britain, 2020

10th August 2020

This release is a collaboration with the Officefor National Statistics (ONS) and Ordnance Survey mapping the location and characteristics of high streets in Great Britain. Retail has been among the sectors most affected by the COVID19 outbreak. In the context of the almost complete shutdown of Britain's non-essential shops between March and June 2020, it is critical that good data are available to describe high streets as they were before this happened.

As shops and the hospitality sector have now begun to reopen, this article provides the context to help understand some key changes that are already being seen on the high street, as lockdown eases in some respects.

Main points include

Offices accounted for around 11% of all addresses on British high streets in March 2020.

Hub towns high streets have retained more of a retail focus than other places, being composed of 36% retail addresses, compared with 29% in Great Britain overall.

The population living within easy walking distance of a high street is predominantly in the 16 to 64 years age group, more so than in a local authority's non-high street areas.

Many of the people living on or around high streets in British cities are higher education students.

A few extracts

Main points

Offices accounted for around 11% of all addresses on British high streets in March 2020.

"Other services" sectors consisting mostly of private sector office-based firms made up between 29% of high street employment in the North East and 49% in London in 2018, with the rate in City of London at 85%.

High street retail employment fell in more than three-quarters of local authorities between 2015 and 2018.

Hub towns' high streets have retained more of a retail focus than other places, being composed of 36% retail addresses, compared with 29% in Great Britain overall.

High street employment in the accommodation and food services sector was growing in most local authorities between 2015 and 2018.

In 2018, 121,440 people were employed in pubs and bars on British high streets, with London and the South East having the highest numbers.

Between 2015 and 2018, the growth in employment in high street pubs and bars was three percentage points higher than in pubs and bars in non-high street locations.

The population living within easy walking distance of a high street is predominantly in the 16 to 64 years age group, more so than in a local authority's non-high street areas.

Many of the people living on or around high streets in British cities are higher education students.

Read the full report HERE