Rethinking the Town Centre: It’s About More Than Just Shops

🏙️ Rethinking the Town Centre: It’s About More Than Just Shops

We still see the same comments pop up on social media, time and time again:

“There’s no point in going into town — there’s nothing to buy.”

“Why put murals on walls or flowers in planters if the shops are all shut?”

And we get it.

For a long time, town centres were all about shopping — that was their main purpose.

But the world has changed, and if we want our town centre to survive — let alone thrive — we need to start seeing it differently.

🛒 Shopping Alone Won’t Save Our High Street

Big brands are closing physical stores across the country. More people than ever are shopping online. It’s not just a Grimsby issue — it’s happening in towns and cities up and down the UK.

So if our only measure of success is “how many shops are there?”, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment. We’re also missing the point of the wider regeneration work happening all around us.

Because right now, Grimsby’s town centre is being transformed — not just with new retail offers, but with spaces for creativity, community, culture, health, and business.

🌸 Regeneration That’s About People, Not Just Purchases

Here are just some of the ways Grimsby is reimagining what a town centre can be:

• Murals and public art: The new Migration mural by Dogma Art on Victoria Street is one of many creative installations that bring colour, identity and pride into the high street.
  
  
• Green spaces and seating: New planters, benches, and the town’s first “living wall” are helping the centre feel more welcoming, cared for, and enjoyable.
  
  
• St James House: Once empty, now transformed into a modern business hub run by e-Factor and The Business Hive, supporting local entrepreneurs and job creation right in the centre of town.
  
  
• NHS Diagnostic Centre in Freshney Place: Providing local access to health checks and scans in a convenient, central location — a new kind of anchor for town centre footfall.
  
  
• Grimsby Minster: More than a church, it now hosts craft markets, concerts, school events, exhibitions and workshops — a genuine community space rooted in welcome and wellbeing.
  
  
• Our Big Picture: Currently renovating a town centre building into a space for art, culture and heritage, designed to bring stories and creativity into the heart of the town.
  
  
• CARE’s Community Hub: Set to open in the former Bank of Scotland building, offering accessible support, group space, and services for local residents.
  
  
• Town centre events: From the Festival of the Sea to the upcoming BargeFest in Riverhead Square, we’re seeing more reasons to come into town — not just to shop, but to gather, enjoy, and connect.
  
  
• Horizon Youth Zone (coming soon): A game-changing space for young people offering support, sports, creative spaces and life-changing opportunities — right at the heart of Grimsby’s regeneration vision.
  
  
• High Street Revival Scheme: Designed to bring empty units back into use — not just for retail, but for social enterprise, community activity and new ideas, supported with funding, reduced rents, and free business mentoring.

🧭 What If We Thought of Town as a Place to Be?

If we want to keep our town centre alive, we can’t just wait for the “right shops” to return. We have to support the places, people, and ideas that are already investing in something new.

A lively, cared-for, and creatively used town centre attracts more investment. It helps businesses grow, gives residents reasons to visit, and gives the next generation a reason to feel proud of where they’re from.

So yes — we’d all love more independent shops and great places to buy from.

But that’s only part of the story.

Let’s stop thinking about our town centre as just a place to spend money — and start thinking of it as a place to spend time.