The Town Centre of Sittingbourne in Kent in the UK is an example of the mixing of the old-world market-town and the more modern Town Centre of the eighties and nineties. In recent years we’ve seen a decline in the use of the town and an increase in the surrounding population. For traders in the Town Centre, this has been a frustrating time with many much-respected and indeed much-loved local traders being forced to abandon Sittingbourne either through insolvency or fear of insolvency. One of the most high profile casualties of the high street was Woolworths. Although this was a nation-wide collapse of a major player in Britain’s retail history, the after-effects in a town like Sittingbourne is quite stark. Although the old Woolworths store has since been occupied, regaining trust in the High Street is a slow process and people are quite naturally skeptical and cautious.

In the 2000s there is a clear division between the old and new style Shopping Centres, with the added Retail Park variation in the mix. Stores are no longer happy to be within walking distance of customers and be thought of as part of the community but now tend to aim for a more aloof standing with larger stores aimed at a wider demographic.

I’ve never been a great fan of the big out-of-town experience i.e. ‘Bluewater’ & ‘Lakeside’ but can see the appeal of everything in one location. The problem is that people go to these places and buy things which they could get locally because they treat it as an ‘experience’ instead of a shopping trip.

That’s what our High Streets used to be in the 80s and 90s, with the small local shops filling in. Now the High Streets are more like the small local shops filling in for the Out-of-town retail parks.

The new development which is planned for Sittingbourne looks very much like an attempt to incorporate the latest retail ideas, with the community an integral part. This looks great on paper but there needs to be the right mix of content. Lets hope there’s real diversity in both the retail and non-retail outlets within the new extended Town Centre.

Sittingbourne would welcome the employment increase such a development would instigate both directly and indirectly. Weighing up the positives against the negatives, it is definitely time for this type of change, as long as the essence of the old High Street stays the same.