Today we launch our Community-Led High Street Innovators, a 12-month learning partnership to invest in community-led action to revitalise high streets and town centres across England.
The project supports community businesses to develop their work on the high street, using community-led approaches to regenerate their local places. It focuses on communities taking space on high streets and increasing their role in decision-making about their local high street or town centre.
Five community organisations were selected to participate:
- Artspace Lifespace in Bristol
- Dewsbury Arcade Group in Dewsbury
- Madlab in Stockport
- Make LCR in Birkenhead
- Southmead Development Trust in Bristol
Together, the Innovators are exploring different models for community involvement over their high streets. This includes involvement in vacant property task forces and local partnerships, creating a Commercial Property Database and Vacant Property Toolkit, testing new policy powers like High Street Rental Auctions, and exploring alternative approaches to cultural placemaking to avoid extractive town centre regeneration.
Over the next 12 months, Community-Led High Street Innovators will demonstrate what is possible when communities lead efforts to revitalise their area. Evidence will emerge through the work on the ground, using an evidence-gathering framework to understand the barriers communities face in high street regeneration.
Kate McKenzie, Practice and Innovation Manager at Power to Change, said:
“We know from experience that community-led high street regeneration is the key to making lasting change in our town and city centres. Our five Innovators represent exciting ways for communities to actively shape the future of their high streets, each taking action to revitalise our dying town and city centres while meeting the needs and wants of local people. Throughout the next 12 months, we will be learning from and with our Innovators to understand how key stakeholders, from government to other businesses, can help communities take back their high streets.”
To strengthen this emerging evidence, a High Street Policy Reference Group will bring together a network of policymakers and influencers, funders and experts to explore complex issues of high street and town centre regeneration and promoting community-led development. Through quarterly meetings, the group members will share best practice and research, develop policy ideas and recommendations, and contribute to the emerging evidence from the Community-Led High Street Innovators.
Ian Harvey, Head of the Institute of Place Management and member of the High Streets Policy Reference Group, said:
“At the Institute of Place Management, we see first-hand how community place leaders are playing an increasingly central role in shaping the future of high streets. The Community-Led High Street Innovators represent many of the most inspiring and innovative examples of this in action. But there’s still plenty of work to do to create better policies so the communities that want to have a say in their high street can.
“Power to Change’s High Street Policy Reference Group provides an exciting opportunity to ensure the evidence emerging from the Community-led High Street Innovators can help inform better policy and practice for community-led high street regeneration. I am looking forward to making visits to these inspiring projects during 2025/2026 and highlighting these success stories to many others across the country.”
As findings emerge, Power to Change will work with the innovators to advocate for the power, backing and resources community businesses need to take back the high street.
Liam Kelly, Make CIC said:
“The Leftbank Collective are excited to work with Power to Change to see if we can approach regeneration in an innovative way. We’re aiming to create a place where community-led interventions make lasting changes and transform our high street in Birkenhead. We’ll seek to support organisations to get involved, access space, and use the powers available to them to move things forward.”
Cecilia Casadio, Southmead Development Trust said:
“Here at Southmead Development Trust, we are delighted to be taking part in the Community-Led High Street Innovators project with Power to Change. The project will allow us to share lessons learned from eight years of ambitious, community-led regeneration, whilst learning from other experienced voluntary sector high street innovators. This investment and learning will help us to prepare for our new community-run high street and overcome remaining challenges before build completion. The funding will support us to continue engaging businesses and residents through events and outreach support, developing partnerships with organisations interested in occupying our new high street units and building on partnerships to address public health, climate change and housing issues in our area.”
