What Brits Want From Their High Street, and How Cornwall Stacks Up

Bakeries, butchers, free parking and fewer vape shops. A new national report has laid out exactly what people want from their local high street, and Cornwall already has more of it than most places in the country.

The national picture

The Voices of Retail report, published by Faire and Spring & Autumn Fair, surveyed 2,040 UK shoppers and 650 retailers. It found that 95% of people would spend more on their local high street if the mix of shops was right, with average monthly spend potentially jumping from £66 to £145.

Nine in ten shoppers said the rise of AI has made them more likely to want to see products in real life and speak to actual humans. Eighty-five per cent said they value genuine interaction over self-checkouts, and 82% said they would rather spend their money with independents than chains.

The top ten things people want on their dream high street reads like a walk through Chapel Street in Penzance or Arwenack Street in Falmouth. Bakers came top at 70%, followed by free parking at 69%, independent coffee shops at 59%, a bank at 58%, a cashpoint at 57%, independent restaurants at 57% and butchers at 55%.

At the other end, the things people want less of were vape shops (68%), empty units (66%), gambling arcades (52%), bookies (45%) and payday loan shops (41%).

Where Cornwall is already winning

Look at that wishlist and Cornwall is, in a lot of ways, ahead of the curve. Independent bakeries are everywhere, from Baker Tom’s and Da Bara to Warrens and Rowe’s on the chain side, plus dozens of village bakers. Independent butchers like Philip Warren in Launceston, Etherington’s, Kittows and Richard Nancekivell have genuine reputations. Independent coffee shops? Truro, Falmouth, St Ives, Padstow, Bude and Penzance all have strong scenes.

The report found 61% of shoppers want to support local business because they like the personality and the story behind it. That’s Cornwall’s whole thing. From fishmongers on the harbour to the craft shops and galleries tucked down side streets, the county trades on exactly the kind of character the rest of the country says it’s missing.

Keith Hunt, who runs eco shop Our Precious Earth in Minehead and was quoted in the report, said his business keeps growing because of community events like weekly beach cleans that bring up to 90 people in at a time. That model will sound familiar to any indie shop owner from St Agnes to Fowey.

Where Cornwall struggles

Then there’s parking. The report found 69% of shoppers say free short-stay parking is essential, and they want an average of 88 minutes free.

Cornwall Council car parks don’t offer that. Most charge from the first minute, and the rates have gone up repeatedly in recent years. Shoppers in the report said opening hours are another friction point, with 42% wanting stores open later, particularly after 7.30pm. Outside a handful of towns in peak season, most of Cornwall shuts at five.

Diane Yartlett, owner of Nova Fortuny, told the report’s authors her shop doesn’t open until 11am because parking restrictions make earlier hours pointless. “I’ve had customers say it’s hard to park. People want to come, go for lunch, look in shops, but it’s not easy.” Ask any independent retailer in Truro, Helston or Bodmin and you’ll hear a near-identical answer.

Empty units are the other visible issue. Parts of Camborne, Redruth and Bodmin have long-term vacant shopfronts, and 66% of the country said that’s one of the things they most want to see less of.

The things Cornwall has too many of

Vape shops top the national “less of” list at 68%. Walk through almost any Cornish town centre and you’ll count several. Truro, Camborne, Newquay and Penzance all have clusters. Bookies and gambling arcades, also on the report’s unwanted list, are a visible presence in the larger towns too.

What would actually bring people back

The report asked shoppers what would make them visit their high street more often. The top answers were free short-stay parking (63%), more independent shops (62%), cleaner streets (48%), longer opening hours (42%) and more cafés and restaurants (39%). More events and markets came in at 36% and better public transport links at 33%.

Cornwall already does events and markets well. Falmouth Week, Golowan, Lafrowda, Tom Bawcock’s Eve, food festivals in Padstow and Porthleven, the Christmas markets in Truro. The appetite is there, and the infrastructure is mostly there.

What’s holding things back isn’t demand. Charlotte Broadbent, UK General Manager at Faire, said the research showed the story of declining high streets has been overstated. “For most people, their local high street is still the heart of their community, and what surprised us most is just how strong that demand remains.”

The blended model

The report also found the public isn’t calling for chains to disappear. Forty per cent said they’d want to keep Greggs, 39% would keep M&S and Boots. The future, the authors argue, is a balance between indies and chains that gives a town personality without losing convenience.

Cornwall’s bigger towns already run on that model. Truro has M&S, Boots and Greggs alongside Charlotte’s Tea House, Uncommon Ground and Archie Brown’s. Falmouth mixes Wetherspoons and Superdrug with Beerwolf Books, Espressini and Stones Bakery. The balance isn’t the problem.

The problem is the bits around the edges. Parking charges. Opening hours that don’t flex. Vacant units that nobody seems able to fill. The report’s message to councils and landlords is clear enough: people want to spend, they just need a reason and a way to do it.

Jackson Szabo, Portfolio Director at Hyve Group, put it bluntly. “The story isn’t one of lost demand, it’s one of missed opportunity. People still want to shop locally, they still value independent businesses and they’re willing to spend more when the experience is right.”

For Cornwall, the question isn’t whether the high street can survive. It’s whether the people who run the car parks and set the business rates are paying attention to what the shoppers are actually asking for.