Highstreetpositives

08/07/2026

Love Carlisle is collaborating with local businesses and community members to reshape the narrative surrounding our city. ❤️ To achieve this, they are launching a community-driven campaign, encouraging residents and businesses across Carlisle to share videos and social media posts that highlight the positive aspects of the city using

08/07/2026

A place can have great shops, beautiful buildings and plenty to offer…

But can people actually find their way around?

We often talk about high streets through the lens of strategy, investment and regeneration.

But one of the simplest things that shapes whether a place works is often overlooked:

Can people understand it when they arrive?

Wayfinding is about so much more than signs.

It’s about helping people feel confident enough to explore - to turn down the side street, discover the independent shop, find the hidden café, or spend longer in a place.

And while people experience the visible layer - signage, entrances, routes, branding and spaces - there is a much bigger system behind it.

Planning decisions.
Ownership.
Funding.
Governance.
Design.

All of these influence how people move through a high street, town centre or retail destination.

When it works, you barely notice it.

You simply move through a place that makes sense.

We explored this with our partners at Widd, whose team has more than a century of experience helping retailers, developers and destinations create environments that connect design intent with real-world experience.

As Sarah Beaumont from Widd says:

“Wayfinding often gets considered too late, when key decisions have already been made. The most effective schemes are those where it’s part of the early thinking - so movement, sightlines and signage work together, rather than being added on afterwards.”

A huge thank you to Sarah and the team at Widd for collaborating with us on this piece.

Read the full blog via the link in our bio 👇

24/06/2026

💗 Why do some high street units stay empty while others thrive?

💗 What actually happens behind the scenes between landlords, planners, surveyors, architects, local authorities and occupiers?

💗 And where are the biggest opportunities to create stronger high streets in the future?

Join us on 1 July at 11am for our next HighStreetPositives webinar: Join The Dots.

We’ll be bringing together voices from across the high street ecosystem to explore:

🌸 Why spaces can remain vacant
🌸 The commercial realities behind decision-making
🌸 The barriers that can slow progress
🌸 What occupiers, landlords and investors are looking for
🌸 How planning, design and activation fit together
🌸 Opportunities for better collaboration and stronger places

Featuring speakers from Legal & General, Sorbon Estates, Nexus Planning, Meanwhile Space, Colliers, FaulknerBrowns, RICS and Southend-on-Sea City Council.

💗 Free for HSP members
💗 £35 for non-members
💗 Register once and receive the recording

📅 1 July
⏰ 11am-1pm

Book here:
https://luma.com/rla72t0m

A thriving high street doesn’t happen by accident. Let’s join the dots. 💗.

26/05/2026

The True Voice of Carlisle (Because We Actually Care) 💙

​Let’s be honest for a second. It is incredibly easy to jump online, find something to complain about, and drag the city down. We see it all the time.

​But you know what takes actual effort? Showing up every single day to lift people up.

​That is exactly why Love Carlisle exists. We aren't a corporate machine, and we aren't here for the negative noise. We are the true positive choice for our city because we believe in the people who make Carlisle a brilliant place to live, work, and visit.

​Here is what we are proud to shout about every single week:

​Our Independent Businesses: The local shops, cafes, and family-run trades that are the absolute heartbeat of our high street. When you support them, you keep our city alive.

​Unmissable Events: From massive city-centre festivals to hidden-gem local markets, we love partnering up to make sure you never miss what’s happening on your doorstep.

​Incredible Community Groups: The unsung heroes, local sports teams, and volunteers who dedicate their own time to making life better for everyone else.

​We don't just post about Carlisle; we live and breathe it. We want our high street to thrive, our local economy to grow, and our community to feel proud of where we live.

​If you want a feed full of doom and gloom, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want to support the independent businesses, local legends, and positive stories that make this city great—stick with us.

​Let's keep backing Carlisle together! 🙌

​

23/05/2026

🌸 I’m excited to announce our next HighStreetPositives webinar
📅 4th June | 12–2pm
Joining the Dots of How High Streets Work 🙌

High streets are often talked about in simple terms - but the reality is far more connected.

Behind every shopfront, space, and street experience is a system of decisions involving planning, design, delivery, leasing, activation and day-to-day management. This webinar is about making that system visible.

We’ll be bringing some of these perspectives together in one conversation, joining the dots between how places are shaped, how they function, and how they evolve over time.

A fast-moving, practical session exploring:

* how high streets actually operate behind the scenes
* where alignment creates better outcomes
* where friction appears across the system
* and where there is real opportunity to do things differently

Whether you work in property, planning, design, placemaking, local government, leasing, retail or activation - or simply care about the future of your high street - you’re very welcome.

🎟 Tickets: £35 https://luma.com/tyoxmkr3
🌸 Free for HighStreetPositives members and partners: https://lnkd.in/e5EjT9Aa
🎥 Recording included for all attendees

⸻
Our speakers include:

Tania Love RIBA FRSA FIPM - FaulknerBrowns
Ben Cluett - Southend-on-Sea City Council
Ola Alade MRICS - RICS Surveying / viability
Alex Hutchings - Greenwoods Legal
Charlotte Fletcher - JLL
Katherine Croom - Sorbon Estates
Emily Berwyn - Meanwhile Space
Rob Pearson - Nexus Planning

And Iain Nicholson, Founder of The Vacant Shops Academy will be expertly hosting the session 💗

And more to be announced … Join the HighStreetPositives webinar - joining the dots on how high streets work

06/05/2026

03/05/2026

Next week I’ll be closed on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th as I head to Bath for a “Highstreet Postive Live” meeting!
I’m excited to learn more about the nations Highstreets and listen to, and network with the people who are making changes in the area that I’m so passionate about.
I’m also excited to go back to Bath where I used to work 😃

⭐️Next week open⭐️
Tuesday 5th May 10-4
Friday 8th May 10-4
Saturday 9th May 10-5