These photos date from March to May 2012 when Bearwood high street was the subject of a £100,000 bid to the Government's £1.5m fund for town centres needing economic and social revitalisation. This was known as the "Mary Portas Bid", named after the celebrity retail "expert" who had led a study into the needs of high streets following a period of economic recession.
Sadly, the bid for Bearwood was not successful, but the march and subsequent "Jane's Walk" did increase interest in the high street and Bearwood as a whole, with many community events and activities happening since, plus the successful street festival in June 2017 (see EVENTS for photos).
An improvement in retail performance seems to have happened since 2012, but there are debates over this. Some retail units remain closed, or have been filled and others closed. A mixed picture perhaps.
The photos try to show various issues at the time, the main one being the amount of empty shop units. There are also problems of pavement car parking, crossing busy roads on foot and the lack of formal bicycle parking. It's a snapshot in time. What needs to be done next, and how long will it take before a similar set of photos show a significantly different high street in terms of what it offers and who uses it?
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