In my work supporting high streets I regularly talk to politicians of all persuasions, and I was pleased to show North Durham MP Luke Akehurst (pictured centre) some of Chester-le-Street’s best independent businesses last Friday, on a walking tour led by local commercial property owner Keith O’Brien (left).
New occupants
Vacancy in the town is the lowest it has been since Covid, with many new arrivals in the last year – and actual shops too (hardware store, travel agent, ladies’ boutique, etc.), not just barbers and vape shops like in some towns!
It was good to spot several more vacant units being prepared for new occupants.
Proactive local landlords like Keith, and his company Cestrian Estates, play a part in this. With his office on the Front Street, he cares about the town and is there himself every day. Over the years, I have seen him working hard to bring in occupants that complement the town’s mix of uses, investing in improving his existing properties and acquiring new ones, and supporting his tenants to succeed.
Housekeeping
Though there is always room for improvement, Chester-le-Street also has the benefit of being generally well kept, though February is barely the best time to appreciate the town’s floral appeal. After a clampdown by local councillors, the flyposting problem from last year is much diminished.
And housekeeping is important – as I repeatedly note, we can’t expect people to put down their phones and head out into the physical space if the places we present are dirty and unloved.
Challenges
At the same time, it was important to highlight to Luke the challenges, such as a few stubbornly long-standing empty premises (mostly former banks and pubs), which often require significant renovation and are typically marketed by property agents based miles away, who don’t know the town and are not especially invested in its success.
For example, a property like the listed former Queen’s Head is ripe for reinvention – perhaps with apartments upstairs and a retained leisure use at street level – but the cost and other hurdles of making that happen can be prohibitive. However, the town will always be blighted for as long as that once-handsome – and could-be-handsome-again – building remains unloved, so doing nothing is not an option.
I also flagged – as is the case everywhere – the need for adequate policing to keep people and businesses safe from crime and antisocial behaviour, which risks becoming a barrier to people wanting to visit or trade in the town.
Independents
Following the tour, I continued with some of my day-to-day work in the town. I was pleased to meet co-owner Joe at new independent sweet shop Sweet Escape, inside St Cuthbert’s Walk, which had opened just a few days earlier.
I also enjoyed a catch-up with Deborah at The Crafty Gift Shop, which has a super range of Valentine’s Day gifts and cards at this time of year. The shop provides a high street showcase for local makers, and, appropriately, was one of my first Retail Cupid successes when I did the intro to the shopping centre’s managing agents, Bradley Hall.
All that visiting shops is hungry work, so thank goodness St Cuthbert’s Walk also has Lou’s café, with delicious homemade quiche and always some of the best chips in the North East.
Resilient
I’ve been working in Chester-le-Street on and off since 2014, and the town is pretty much where my career supporting and championing high streets started.
So, a decade later, I could not be more proud to still be involved in this busy and resilient little town, celebrating its existing businesses and working to attract new ones.
As I always argue, many of the solutions to invigorating high streets are local ones – that’s why Chester-le-Street, with its active community of businesses and other stakeholders, is performing reasonably well.
However, government, as well as our North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and her planned High Streets Commission, have a crucial role to play in creating the conditions in which places can thrive.
