SAVE OUR HIGH STREETS!

Shops in high streets across the UK are closing at an ever-increasing rate turning towns and cities into "no-go" areas; ghost towns of boarded-up buildings and empty litter-strewn pavements. Our high streets are the hub of our communities and the beating heart of British society and this decline should not be allowed to continue. Here at the Happy Zone we believe in positive thinking backed up by positive actions and if everyone in the UK pulls together on this, we can turn this depressing decline into an exciting new beginning - a fresh start for towns large and small that had been considered dead and buried.

The Happy Zone has put together this 10 Point Action Plan that we would like every single one of you to share with your friends, families and above all your local councils, shop owners and town planners. Email them, phone them, tweet them, leave messages and comments on their websites and Facebook pages until we get them to listen and take action! 

Let's all get together and make our high streets and town centres go from this...

...to this! We know which picture we prefer! 

SAVE OUR HIGH STREETS - 10 POINT ACTION PLAN!

1. Appoint a High Street Ambassador - something that every local council should be doing which we urge you to write/email your council to suggest. A 'High Street Ambassador' would be a full-time position employed by each council to act as a project manager to bring business and footfall back to YOUR high street. Their goals would include making sure that every single empty shop is filled, organising events and festivals and liasing with the local community to see what local people really want to see happening in their high streets.
2. Town Action Committee - a team of volunteers whose role is to support the High Street Ambassador in all of their aims and goals to bring their high street back to life.
3. Free Parking! - this is an absolute necessity for most towns in order to generate footfall and compete against the large out-of-town shopping malls. This of course would be up to the council to implement and we understand that this may only be able to happen on weekends and after certain hours midweek - but this has to start happening!!
4. Pop-Up Shops - if there are so many vacant shops and buildings in town centres then these can be used for temporary 'pop-up' shops selling a variety of goods and fulfilling a variety of needs. They needn't be shops but could be pop-up cinemas, galleries or art installations - anything that makes positive use of an empty space and encourages people to come to your high street.
5. Events - regular high profile events that involve the entire community and  the wider population outside your town can only be a good thing! Examples include - food festivals, children's carnival, all-night arts festival (where the shops and cafes also open all night), gay pride mardis gras, film festivals, Easter parade, Halloween street party....the list is endless! 
6. Regular Markets - more and more small towns and communities are hosting farmers markets and vintage craft fairs as these draw in the crowds and attract customers from miles around.
7. Support Independent Shops - over the last few decades our high streets have become filled with more and more generic chains all selling the same thing and offering nothing new or different to anywhere else - too many Tesco, Sainsburys and other mini-supermarkets that are leaching the life out of our local butchers, newsagents and corner shops. Too many corporate tax avoiders like Starbucks offering watered-down, overpriced "coffee" and disgusting factory-produced muffins. We need to be encouraging vibrant independent coffee and tea shops, gift shops, fashion boutiques, book stores and the like. The towns and cities that are weathering the economic storm the best are those that offer interesting and varied independent shopping destinations like Brighton, Lewes and Whitby. Support your independent shops and you support your local economy, leading to less unemployment and a brighter, more friendly community. 
8. No Empty Shops & Premises! - we cannot express strongly enough the importance of this. Encourage greedy landlords to let out premises for free for a year to traders who can bring something valuable to the community. Encourage new businesses that are different to anything else in the area. As we've said above, encourage pop-up shops, galleries and community centres - as long as those that occupy the spaces keep them clean, bright, attractive, tidy and respectable they can only lift your high street out of its doldrums!
9. Community Engagement - get everyone in the local community involved in setting up and attending events - local schools, newspapers, churches, theatres, cinemas, arts groups, libraries, pensioners, youth groups, charities - anyone and everyone who would like to get involved in a positive way.
10. Publicity! - even if you manage to achieve even half the things in our 10 Point Action Plan you still need to get the word out there by any means necessary to encourage people to come along! Why not set up a High Street website or blog that can keep up a record of your journey as well as publicise your events, new shops etc? Email your local newpapers and 'what's on' magazines, tweet about what you're doing, set up a Facebook page or group, let the Happy Zone know what you're up to, write to The One Show, local celebrities, Mary Portas, local radio...there are so many ways to get publicity these days and you never know who might be willing to step in and help you!

Many of the above ideas and more are already being championed by retail expert Mary Portas, who was commissioned by the Prime Minister David Cameron to lead an independent review into the future of the high street. This has resulted in a funding scheme known as the Portas Pilots, whereby towns can apply for support and funding from the government in order to make positive changes in their high streets. You can visit Mary's website to read more of her ideas and more about the Portas Pilots but we do urge you to watch all three episodes of her Channel Four television show Mary Queen of the High Street while it's still available online to see how these ideas can really work if people just make an effort and work together!

Please add your comments below and let us know about YOUR positive action to boost your local shops and your own high streets. Feel free to email us at cyberschizoid@yahoo.co.uk using "Save Our High Streets" as your subject line!

HERE'S AN IDEA...

UK Riots - Making Things Better

As we at The Happy Zone always look on the more positive and happier side of life, we thought we'd take another look at the UK riots and try to come up with some positive actions and solutions which may prevent this from happening again. Please let us know of any ideas and happy thoughts you have concerning this, any uplifting stories you may have heard or organisations that you recommend which are already doing good work either with young people in general or in helping with the clean-up campaigns.

• Help Britain's young people learn to love their neighbourhood and local communities.
• If you have spare time on your hands, or don't work at the moment then organise or take part in a local community group aimed at local youths. It doesn't always take loads of money, just a bunch of willing volunteers who are able to give their time and skills.
• Celebrities - Young people today look up to and try to emulate their favourite celebrities, pop stars, rap artists and sports men and women. These famous (and often wealthy) stars need to put themselves out there as role models by getting their hands dirty; helping the riot clean-up wombles, giving their time to local youth projects and visiting schools and youth clubs to talk to, help and motivate teenagers.
• On a much bigger scale, projects funded by the banks and huge corporations such as the major supermarkets should be encouraged and put into action. What about funding local community parks and gardens in the most deprived areas? These could be designed, looked after and tended to by local teenagers.
• Other potential projects could include "keep Britain tidy" groups which would regularly go out into the local community and pick up litter, repair broken fences, paint over graffitti and generally look after the local area.
• Young people should be allowed to go on some patrols with local police officers to see the kinds of trouble the police have to deal with on a daily basis.
• Recycling - local entrepeneurs and small businesses could help young people set up their own businesses using recycled goods and rubbish, thus helping the environment at the same time.
• Councils should allow organised groups to use the many empty, abandoned and boarded up shops on our high streets free of charge. These could be utilised by youth groups, art projects and small start-up businesses and shops run by young people.
• Regenerate our local high streets. Ok, so we're in the middle of a deep recession which means many shops are closing down and no-one has any money to spend. However, our high streets can still be buzzing, thriving areas full of cheap and free activities and fun things to do. It just takes the right people to organise things alongside support from local councils as well as local shops and businesses.
• Parental responsibilities - parents totally need to take responsibility for their children, particularly those aged 16 and under. They need to know exactly where their kids are at all times and keep constant checks on their whereabouts.
• Curfews - it maybe a good idea to have a 9pm curfew for anyone aged 16 or under for the next three to six months until things have settled down. It could potentially make britain's streets a little safer at night.
• Education - All schools should have compulsory lessons in the following for all children aged 5 upwards : recycling, manners, "keep britain tidy", looking after the environment, self-esteem, healthy eating, growing your own fruit and vegetables, sustainable living.
• Television and media need to take more responsibility for all the junk and bad "role models" they shove down our kids throats on a daily basis. More TV shows based around helping others, self-esteem, recycling, the environment, how to better yourself and less TOWIE, Geordie Shores, Big Brother and the like.

So some of this may seem to be pie in the sky but just remember that nothing is impossible if enough people pull together and believe in themselves and the greater good. Please add your own constructive ideas below or on our Facebook page. Stay happy!

THE UK RIOTS - What Can We Do To Make Things Better?

We at The Happy Zone blog always concentrate on positive, happy and life-affirming stories, news and ideas. Now that London and the rest of the UK has been hit by violent riots, looting, mayhem and arson for the last three days we want to take a look at how we can all help to make things better both in the short and long-term.


We are not a political or religious site but do believe that by everyone pulling together no matter what they believe in we can all help build a better community for all. We welcome your positive comments, ideas and stories so please post in the comment box below or on the Happy Zone Facebook page.


The picture above is actually of those wonderful people who have already become known as the Riot Wombles on Twitter who are banding together to help clean up all the areas of London affected by the riots. If you want to help then you can follow @Riotcleanup on Twitter or go to their website.

Long-term solutions to stop this happening should all involve ways of helping people, particularly young people to learn to love and respect their local communities. This needs to come from schools, parents and the communities themselves in equal measure. Please contact us with positive ideas on how everyone can help rebuild these shattered communities and restore pride and self-esteem in our youth.