We need to get over our obsession with retail on high streets and look to the future. That’s the stark conclusion of a new report dubbed High Streets: Life Beyond Retail from the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee.

The key findings from the report are that the dominance of retail on high streets really is in the past. While shopping “will still be a key feature” (and the committee said markets should be encouraged in town centres for the contribution they make), there’s actually “greater demand and opportunity for restaurants and leisure activities, as well as for more public services, such as health centres and libraries, in town centres”.

It said local authorities, communities and businesses “need to work together to shape high streets that are reflective of local conditions, adaptable, and resilient” and that a “fixed vision and monolithic approach to their future should be avoided”.

The committee believes “high streets will only thrive if people can get to them easily and safely. Access by car and sufficient parking are necessary for commercial sustainability, though their adverse consequences can be mitigated by better public transport connectivity, particularly through improved bus networks. Traditional high streets are in competition with the convenience of parking arrangements in out-of-town developments”.

And it added that “people, particularly young people, value having space to socialise and spend time without spending money on the high street. They also value green spaces on or near the high street. More green space and an improved public realm should be a key consideration in proposed regeneration programmes”.

The committee thinks local authorities and central government strategies are crucial “but the previous government’s plans to revive high streets were not well co-ordinated. The new government’s local growth funding reforms must ensure that high streets are enabled to flourish in the long term, and that those responsible for their future have enough expertise to deliver improvements. The government should recognise that local authority bidding for central funding has become expensive and wasteful and should consider replacing that approach with a transparent system of funding distribution that commands greater confidence”.

Other findings include the need for a ‘town centre first’ policy “to ensure new public services including libraries, diagnostic centres and local government buildings are opened on our high streets” with a recommendation of each local authority having an active town centre manager to support the development of their high streets and town centres.

And more needs to be done to make young people, especially young women, feel safe on high streets, while at the most basic level, access to public toilets is also important.