Far from the exotic and refreshing proposals which have been featuring in the local press, the reality is that Hounslow’s high street and town centre are ever deteriorating, following a raft of store closures.
The face of British retail, as seen in the case of Hounslow, is ever changing and the London Assembly has advised Councils to be more imaginative when designing town centres in the future. Whilst there have been slight renovations made in Hounslow, such as a refurbishment to both the car parks, within the Treaty Centre and behind the high street, progress is very slow and it will be long before the town square and the proposed cinema near the point of realisation.
The greatest pity of the recent high street closures is that Hounslow has so much potential to succeed as a retail centre thanks to its well connected transport links, one of the largest populated boroughs in London and the fact that there are no other major competing town centres, in close proximity.
The Hounslow town centre ‘master plan’ that was published last year, was commandeered by a chamber which represents businesses across the borough and a group of residents. They called for the council to focus on revitalising existing retail space in the high street itself, with a greater proportion of space given to housing and leisure.
It is often uncertain which stores you will be offered, upon each consecutive visit to Hounslow’s Treaty centre and the high street. However, whilst this is often an inconvenience, it is also surprisingly advantageous; you will always be assured to have reductions to stock in struggling stores and each shopping experience will be greatly varied. Nonetheless, it is our duty to ensure that high street businesses do not continue facing administration and perhaps instead of opting for online shopping, we should browse the local retail market more often, to avoid the desertification of our local high streets.
