One of our five community-led high street innovators – The Arcade Group – is working in Dewsbury to bring a Victorian shopping arcade back to life, and into community ownership. Development Director, Chris Hill, reflects on what community-led regeneration looks like in practice, and why sharing power locally between councils, community businesses and wider high street stakeholders is essential to make the most of Pride in Place.
What if the future of the high street lies not in retail alone but in community ownership, civic participation, and long-term local stewardship? Drawing on a year of learning from our community-led high street innovators programme, Practice and Innovation Manager Kate McKenzie explores how communities across the country are creating a new model of high street renewal – and sets out six recommendations for government to help make the civic high street a reality.
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act marks an important shift in how power and decision-making are shared across the country. In this blog, Power to Change’s Chief Executive, Tim Davies-Pugh, reflects on what that means for communities.
One of our five community-led high street innovators - MadLab - is a grassroots innovation organisation working in Stockport to reimagine the high street through creative, community-led approaches. In this blog in our mini-series, Director Asa Calow reflects on learning from testing community ownership, building partnerships, and developing new models of creative infrastructure that make regeneration last.
Why the time has come for a High Street Property Holding Vehicle
As the government explores new tools to revive high streets, one essential idea is still missing: a fast, agile way for communities to secure the buildings that shape their town centres. Nick Plumb sets out why now is the moment for a High Street Property Holding Vehicle: a mechanism to intervene in a broken market, give communities a fair chance to reclaim vacant assets, and help create the vibrant, mixed use civic high streets our towns deserve.
Community business on the ground – a visit to the Heeley Trust
Paul Jenkins reflects on his visit to community anchor Heeley Trust, the barriers that remain, and why community businesses must be treated as equal partners in shaping their local spaces and places.
Putting communities at the centre of new High Street Innovation Partnerships
The government has announced over £300m to fund High Street Innovation Partnerships. Learning from our Community Led High Street Innovators projects demonstrate what communities can offer to deliver renewed, civic high streets.
Pride in Place shows what meaningful place-based collaboration really takes
Place-based collaboration is often talked about, but the newly expanded Pride in Place programme offers a real opportunity to put it into practice. Shaheen Warren shares insights from a series of Pride in Place workshops delivered across the country, bringing together communities, councils and local partners to talk about sharing power, building trust and work through the hard stuff together.
Saving the high street, not squeezing it: community businesses brace for business rates changes
Our latest Pulse Survey results reveal more than a third of community businesses running vital local spaces expect sharp rises in their business rates bills, with many unsure if they can afford them and unable to access the substantial support being offered to retail, hospitality and leisure venues.
At the end of 2025, Power to Change was invited to join Mayor Kim McGuinness’s new Commission tasked with reviving struggling high streets in the North East. Ahead of the Commission launch, we spoke to community businesses across the North East to understand their vision for the future of the high street and what can be learnt from community-led action that is already taking place on the ground.
A longing for ‘how things used to be’ threatens progress to reimagining the high street. But creative heritage-led regeneration ushers in a brighter future. Jess Craig shares her reflections from a visit to the historic, community-run Dewsbury Arcade.
High street renewal and community ownership must go hand in hand
One of our five community-led high street innovators – Southmead Development Trust – works in north Bristol to improve health, wellbeing, local pride and employment. In this blog in our mini-series CEO Amy Kinnear reflects on learning from testing community ownership to shift power, and make high street renewal last.
Why the government should articulate a clear vision for the high street
Britain’s high streets can be engines of renewal - if government backs the communities already leading change. Our visit to Plymouth’s Nudge Community Builders laid bare how local power is essential to build local pride. Here's why a clear national vision is overdue.
What we’re learning from High Street Rental Auctions – and how they can catalyse change
One of our five community-led high street innovators - Make CIC - creates affordable, creative and maker spaces rooted in local need. In this blog in a mini-series, Regeneration Innovation Co-ordinator Louise Cross, reflects on practical learning from testing High Street Rental Auctions as a way to unlock space and accelerate community-led regeneration.
The recent proposal of a so‑called British Community Reinvestment Act has renewed national attention on how finance can better serve people and places. In this blog, Jennifer Van Der Merwe, Director at Kindred–LCR, reflects on what this moment could mean for the UK’s community finance sector. Drawing on insights from her visit to the Opportunity Finance Network conference in the United States, she explores how a mature, people‑centred approach to lending could help shape a fairer, more inclusive financial system here at home.
One of our five community-led high street Innovators - ArtSpace LifeSpace - is transforming high streets and vacant properties into thriving creative spaces across Bristol. In this blog in a mini-series CEO Kathryn Chiswell-Jones reflects on a study visit to Stockport and explores how meanwhile space can help regenerate city centres.
The government needs a new high streets strategy. Here’s what it should do.
Britain’s high streets are in visible decline, and the government needs a strategy that sets out a bold new vision. By addressing the physical, economic and structural challenges holding high streets back, ministers can restore public confidence and help these vital civic spaces thrive again.
Community-led innovation on the high street: from decline to renewal
Communities are taking back their high streets. This first blog in our mini-series shines a light on the Community-Led High Street Innovators programme and the five community businesses testing new approaches to community-led regeneration.
Local people at the centre: Community business views on Pride in Place
In our last Pulse Survey of the year, community businesses express cautious optimism towards Pride in Place funding and the provision of Neighbourhood Boards.
Why the new Office for the Impact Economy matters — and what it means for community business
Every so often, a policy shift signals real change. In this blog, Power to Change's Chief Executive, Tim Davies-Pugh, explains why the creation of the new Office for the Impact Economy, is one of those moments.
A decade together: Stretford Public Hall and Power to Change
From a grassroots campaign to a bustling centre, Simon Borkin from Stretford Public Hall shares their story of determination, creativity, and the belief that extraordinary things happen when people take ownership of the places that matter.
