Business Bricks

Maisie Slater says:
High Street, Pershore, Worcs.
by Maisie Slater on 16 Feb

Tobias Morris says:
Pitshanger Lane, Ealing, London

organic butcher, baker, fishmonger, greengrocer, some great restuarants including an organic italian, gift shop, book shop, cafes, childrens shoe shop, optician, chemists. Not a single Starbuck or Tesco in sight and no parking restrictions either! You have got to love it.
by Tobias Morris on 16 Feb

Jo Hill says:
Deptford High Street is one of the best
by Jo Hill on 16 Feb

Andrew Banks says:
Hebden Bridge, Halifax.

Loads of small, privately owned, shops and a great place to visit.
by Andrew Banks on 16 Feb

Beverley Knowles says:
Golborne Road, W10

quirky antique shops, vintage clothes retailers, and unique art galleries sit along side fresh fruit and veg on the market, a plethora of moroccan restaurants and cafes, some great bars and the fabulous golborne deli all in the shadow of the design greatness of the Trellick Tower.
by Beverley Knowles on 16 Feb

Jacky Peacock says:
High Street, Harlesden, NW10 has survived City Challenge and Neighbourhood Renewal gimmicks to remain a friendly, quite scruffy, multi-cultural, lively and lovely and cololurful array of shops and people (take all that media hype about shootings with a pinch of salt - it’s one of the friendliest streets in Town)
by Jacky Peacock on 16 Feb

Annette says:
The whole of The North Laine area of Brighton

More quirky independent shops than you could shake a stick at. This area is suffering from massive rent rises as the independents get squeezed by the clone coffee bars.

At the risk of stating the obvious, as well as this list, people need to be encouraged to actually BUY things in these fab shops. Can anyone ever really justify the “convenience” of buying a gift, a greetings card, plants, homewares, clothes and so on from a supermarket? If we concentrated on just those things for starters, half the independents would be thrown a massive lifeline, and we’d all give and get much more thought-out gifts, we’d all have much more appealing homes and we’d all be beautiful people. Well, maybe.
by Annette on 16 Feb

Simon Heywood says:
Northcote Road SW11
by Simon Heywood on 16 Feb

Laura says:
Loughton High Road, Essex.
Fab high street - amazing mix of multiples and independents. Loads of clothes shops, great toy shops, lots of cafes, florists, food shops. The great thing about this street is how it manages to mix chains and independents and in fact I think that that brings the best out of the good independents. It shows that good independents can sit along side national chains.

Lauriston Road and Victoria Park Road, London E9.
Lots of wonderful independents in this villagey corner of Hackney; clothes, toys, gifts, shoes, flowers, books and cafes - and if you want to open a deli, please come here, it is all it needs!
by Laura on 17 Feb

Neil Watson says:
High Street, Old Town, Bridlington

There are places outside London! Lovely old Georgian street, still regenerating.
by Neil Watson on 17 Feb

Neil Watson says:
Driffield, East Yorkshire

Market Town with a good mix of shops including real butchers (ones who can tell you where their meat came from), greengrocers, cafes etc. Also a Tesco and Wilkinson but you can’t have everything!
by Neil Watson on 17 Feb

julia says:
Lordship lane, SE22

some very good eateries and food shops. It was my local high street ’til I moved to Devon to open a B&B
by julia on 17 Feb

Catriona Campbell says:
These are streets I would like to save
Tranquil Vale Blackheath SE London
Whitstable High Street Kent
Canterbury High Street Kent

by Catriona Campbell on 17 Feb

Austen Osborne says:
Abbeygate Street, The Buttermarket and St John’s Street in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. (Mainly because I’m moving there next week and I’d like it to stay in its current beautiful state!)

There’s a great mix of small family-run independents and some of the nicer chain stores, with lots of pubs and restaurants in the mix too.

It’s traffic-free and has loads of nearby parking, even on busy market days. (Best market in East Anglia, apparently!)

It will certainly make a change from smelly east london!
by Austen Osborne on 17 Feb

Nancy Duin says:
Churchfield Road, Acton, London W3

It was the high street in the 19th century (which is why the Acton Cetnral railway station is located on it), and it still has an air of being the most important road in Acton (the actual high street is awash with pound shops and estate agents). Has two gastropubs and a number of other restaurants, including a Korean one (someone on the Guardian did an article a few years ago about the opportunities for eating down this street) - a deli is rumoured to be coming soon. Plus lots of weird and wonderful enterprises. Always worth a visit.
by Nancy Duin on 17 Feb

Jane Witt says:
Unthank Road in Norwich has a wonderful array of shops; vegetable, fish, hardware, electrical, meat, charity, bread, general store, chemist, bank, building society, laundrette. It is known as Norwich’s ‘Notting Hill’ ! I use it, because I don’t want to lose it.
by Jane Witt on 21 Feb

Barbara says:
I have got my local First School children to design a ‘Use it or Lose it’ poster. My village of Horning, on the Norfolk Broads, has still got a few shops left - just hanging in there. But we have a lovely butcher and delicatessen. Well worth the visit - and with lovely views of the river as you shop. If all our villagers would just divert even £5 of their weekly budget to the local community shops we and they would be on a winner. We all need to help change people’s hearts and minds. Slowly but surely.
by Barbara on 21 Feb

Sarah Clarkson says:
Brampton, Cumbria: It’s a gorgeous village (small town?) with a cobbled marketplace and main street. We’ve got a couple of small chain retailers, but mostly we’ve got independents - butchers, fruit & veg, the newsagents, washing & ironing, a couple of great antique centres, gift shops, bakers, coffee shops… the list goes on and on! And why is that no-one seems to appreciate the friendliness of local shops? We love shopping in the village because everyone knows us, and everyone has something to say. On one of those days when eveything has gone wrong, it’s amazing what a cheerful ‘Hello’ can do. We should fight for this - we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
by Sarah Clarkson on 22 Feb

Dixie Coombs says:
The small independent shops in Northcote Road, Clapham London SW11 are not being allowed to renew their due-to-expire leases and the landlords are pushing up the rents of other shops to try and force them out.. Northcote Road is a really fabulous place with market stalls along the pavements and unique individual shops selling excellent goods and fresh produce. Most of the shops have been there for many years and having the market is one of the best things about living in clapham.
by Dixie Coombs on 26 Sep