Case studies

Consumer habits and retail trends are changing at an unprecedented rate, which poses a lot of challenges for town centres and high streets across the country. Despite these challenges councils across the country are eager to regenerate them and make them thriving community and economic hubs.

Councils are leading the revival of our high streets and town centres. As leaders of place, they are offering a new wave of thinking around what the high street can offer to communities and delivering real local change.

Allerdale Borough Council is a small borough council with big ambitions. What we do, we do well but we need to do it more effectively and at a lower cost.

In December 2017 Cornwall Council underwent a corporate peer challenge which called for the organisation to embark on a ‘digital revolution’ to transform service delivery to customers.

Hatfield Renewal Partnership began its work to devise a long-term plan for the future renewal of Hatfield to 2030 and beyond. As a result consultation and engagement with key stakeholders, businesses, community groups and residents took place under the ‘Hatfield 2030+’ branding and the Hatfield 2030 website to better understand the town’s potential, its future challenges and to identify solutions.

This case study reviews the creation and contrasting evolution of town teams using the experiences of Pembrokeshire County Council’s innovative support programme in six towns. 

In 2017/18 North Kesteven District Council undertook a customer-led review of parking provision that resulted in a joined-up approach to managing parking quality, quantity and cost within Sleaford town centre.

Waveney District Council has supported the Southwold Coastal Community Team in developing an evidence-base to underpin its work revitalising the town centre.

Digital technology can provide huge advantages to businesses in town centres and other places if take-up and future opportunities can be properly understood. The Digital High Street Project aims to help place managers understand and improve the ways that local consumer-facing business are adopting digital technologies. 

A partnership of councils are jointly funding a responsive, independent, not-for-profit consultancy, Smarter Digital Services, to help them to achieve their digital ambitions.