We’ve all heard it – the high street is struggling.
It’s the go-to explanation for empty units, quieter streets and changing shopping habits. But a new national report suggests that story doesn’t quite stack up. According to the Voices of Retail 2026 study – based on more than 650 retailers and 2,000 shoppers – independent shops are still holding their own, and most people still want to use their local high street.
Bring that back to Ilkeston, and it raises a simple point.
When people talk about what they want in a town centre, they’re not usually asking for anything radical. The research backs that up – it points to everyday businesses like cafés, bakeries, butchers and independent shops as the backbone of a successful high street, alongside practical things like access to services and free parking.
And the reality is, Ilkeston already has much of that.
There are plenty of independents still trading, a mix of food, retail and services, and enough going on that the town centre isn’t empty by any stretch. It functions. People use it. In many ways, it already looks like the kind of high street the report says people want.
But that doesn’t stop the same comment coming up again and again – that it doesn’t feel like it used to, or that it’s not quite working.
That gap between what’s there and how it feels is where the issue becomes harder to pin down.
Because if the shops are there, the problem is probably not just about what’s missing. It’s about how the place works as a whole. The same research suggests that successful high streets are not simply collections of businesses – they are places that give people a reason to visit and, just as importantly, a reason to stay.
That’s where factors like footfall, activity and experience start to matter.
A handful of empty units in the wrong places can change the look of a whole street. If it feels quiet, people assume it is quiet – and that becomes self-reinforcing. The report also highlights the importance of events, collaboration and creating a sense of identity, all of which help bring people into town and keep them there.
Then there’s everything around the shops themselves.
Cleanliness, upkeep and lighting all shape first impressions. For some, concerns around anti-social behaviour or feeling unsafe – particularly later in the day – influence whether they choose to spend time in the town centre at all. Those are not issues that show up on a shop list, but they affect how a place is used.
None of this is unique to Ilkeston, but it does help explain why a town that appears to have many of the “right” ingredients can still feel like it isn’t quite working.
The Voices of Retail report makes one thing clear: the high street is not disappearing, and the demand for it hasn’t gone away. People still want to support local businesses, and they are still willing to spend in their town centres.
Ilkeston already has many of the things people say they want from a high street. But having them isn’t the same as making them work.
Until the town centre feels busy, welcoming and worth spending time in, that gap between reality and perception will remain.
And that’s the question Ilkeston still hasn’t quite answered.
