Mary Portas returned to our screens last night (Wed, 8th May) with the start of her new series tracking the government’s town centre improvement projects. First up Roman Road, east London.
Roman Road showed that the problems it was facing weren’t unique. It had a long-established, thriving market but one that held little interest to its changing demographic.
Glad to see her principal recommendation – to create destination anchor points at each end of the High Street – is already in place here in Deal, the idea being that businesses in between will benefit from the additional footfall. In Roman Road regeneration of the market was the first with new street food traders added to the mix. The other was a second hand store packed to the rafters with cheap and cheerful goods which she transformed into a beautifully ‘curated’ space selling vintage items and now appealing to Roman Road’s newest more affluent residents. However I’m not sure its owner was entirely on board!
With the recent opening in Deal’s north end of two new vintage shops, one yet to be named and Mileage – which also includes the tea Station cafe – and Taylor-Jones & Son selling hand made gifts and jewellery, we have scored in spades! I definitely think Mary would approve. Take a walk up the High Street, pop into the shops on the way and reward yourself with a delicious slice of cake and a cuppa. Well worth the effort!
See also:
- Mary Queen of the High Street, Channel 4 review
Helen Dickinson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium, reviews the first episode of Mary Portas’s new series. - Major retailers join Mary Portas push to revive high streets
Boots, JD Wetherspoon, Lloyds and Marks & Spencer are among the leading retailers which have backed a drive to regenerate Britain’s embattled high streets.