WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE HIGH STREET?

It is difficult not to be aware of the fact that there are too many
closed shops in the High Street at present and therefore little to
interest the casual shopper.  Sadly there are some lovely shops that are
surviving – the Treat Garden, Froxy Bee, Bazaar, Les Petits, Presents,
the Kitchen Shop and the food shops, but with One Stop closed, footfall
is down and they need your support.
Meanwhile it is interesting to consider just what should come into the
empty premises in order to regenerate the High Street.
The census is ten years out of date but I suspect the trends are similar
now.  The population was 19,748 in both wards.  That should be
sufficient to keep our shops thriving, although in 2006 the Telegraph
reported that Barnes was the internet shopping hotspot of Britain!
¼ of the population is aged 30-44, over ¼ are under 20 (most under 10)
and only 10% is over 60.  Thus we have a mini nappy valley here (perhaps
nappy flood plain is more geographically correct), so perhaps we should
be seeking to encourage shops that sell maternity wear, baby equipment
and furniture, educational toys and shoes.
According to Acorn our main sporting interests are skiing and rugby. 
Should we not have a sports shop catering for demand from schools as well?
Our other interests include current affairs, classical music and opera,
theatre and the arts, antiques and reading.  We also like gourmet food
and wine, the NT and foreign travel.
To satisfy this demand we need a music shop (with instrument hire for
youngsters), a delicatessen, an organic food shop and some antiques.
Visiting Northcote Road in Clapham recently (the original nappy valley),
I was impressed by the number of shops that invited browsing.  There
were gift shops with all sorts of quirky, unusual and fun things to look
at.  There were also “antique” shops with everything from shabby chic,
distressed and hand painted furniture, unusual chairs, jewellery,
cushions, vases, clocks, and ornaments.  There were also shops with
household linens, patchwork quilts, pillow cases and a host of other
interesting things to spend time rummaging through.  What they all had
in common was that their goods were tasteful but not overpriced.
Needless to say, I didn’t come away empty handed!
There were also some innovations – Sweaty Betty had evening sessions of
yoga and a run club and the equivalent of their Framers’ market is run
from permanent street stalls which adds to the fun.
There were only 2 empty shops on the periphery and only one charity shop.
Shopping should be entertaining if it is to be successful and Northcote
Road definitely has the buzz.  Now we need to find a way of making this
happen in Barnes.

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