I’m not often given to quote from the Bible, but the phrase “there’s nothing new under the sun” is hard to avoid when considering some of the approaches to post-lockdown retail right now.
For example, the temporary let, which morphed into the pop-up during the noughties, is now being rebranded as ‘meanwhile use’. Essentially the same principle, except with a name that suggests a prelude to something more permanent, which in the current climate may be a tad over-optimistic.
I’ve never regarded this practice, whatever its current euphemistic description, as being a solution to the problems of empty high streets. The difficulties with retail property are not temporary in nature and pretending they are doesn’t help shape a long-term solution.
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