Wilko presents opportunity for high street revival rather than sounding death knell

Wilko is just the latest national casualty of changing shopper habits and the march of online retail. But with rivals snapping up some of its stores and The Range buying the brand, elements of the business will rise from the ashes – and rather than focusing on why Wilko didn’t work, perhaps we should explore what does work on the high street, and ask what we really need.

A busy high-street symbolises the vitality of our communities. It now makes sense for that vitality to be driven by a mix of activities and shared experiences rather than solely by the consumption of physical products.

The traditional model is gradually failing and radical experimentation is required to reposition the high street for a brighter future. With a surplus of space available there is no reason high streets cannot accommodate more small-scale local businesses and organisations. The ability to test at a small scale would likely lead to new propositions trialling new formats, concepts and start-ups. The result would high streets that feel more unique and worth exploring.

Vacant units provide the chance for younger generations to re-cast the high street to serve their business and cultural interests. New entrants to the high street will hail from a broader and more refreshing range of entrepreneurial and intellectual disciplines. When these spaces are offered to diverse young talent, without charge or at peppercorn rates, the risks will be worth it for the astonishing innovation and increased appeal of the surrounding areas we will see as a result.

As a case in point, Wilko’s stores are generally deep, large format stores that are hard to reconfigure into appealing residential accommodation, but offer countless other possibilities that could contribute to the regeneration of town centres.

Agile, light-footed curation of ground-floor property by landlords enhances the atmosphere and appeal of the high street and wider areas. Typically, landlords seek predictable yields and long-term tenancies and, while shorter and more flexible tenancies are coming in, thinking long term enables the high street and innovative young businesses to thrive.

Pavilion Road in Chelsea has been transformed from a rat-run mews into a neighbourhood hub by providing the individual, small-scale retailers – a butcher, an organic greengrocer, an on-site baker, a specialist wine shop – that are worth walking to. While you’re at it, you can stop for a coffee and watch the world go by. This diminutive mews feels more engaging than anywhere on the nearby King’s Road.

Reference Point on Arundel Street is a fascinating format: a thoughtfully curated ‘resource and cultural centre’ that morphs seamlessly through the day from bookshop, reference library and café to workspace, bar and event hub. It feels like a friendly cultural club and attracts a wealth of youthful inspiration to its location. Not far away, at Somerset House on the Strand, the basements have been transformed into a thriving location for emerging professionals and craftsmen, co-locating in the sort of simple format spaces that one could imagine on any high street.

In the 1980s indoor markets such as Kensington Market and Hyper Hyper were located on the ground floor of huge office developments yet catered to niche sub-cultures in music, fashion, body arts, crafts and accessories. They were the local business incubators of their time, making a direct link between agile design and creativity, craftsmanship and emerging retail, but also generating a vibrant social experience.

More experimental, micro-education formats are a growing trend in the UK, reinventing the one-room ‘schoolhouse’ concept as the model for easy-to-access, innovative and flexible personal learning. These don’t depend on the traditional school or college campus. Micro-schools are hotbeds of innovative teaching methods, working with classes as small as eight, for children better served outside traditional institutions.

Any one of these innovative uses would have a positive effect on the appeal of the high street, ultimately improving its resilience and buoyancy. The death of another high street chain need not signal the end of the high street. It could be a catalyst for its revival.