4 new openings this year on a single town centre street…
…is just one of the encouraging stories emerging from locations we’re working with on tackling #highstreet vacancy.
What’s new from independents in your town or city centre. It’d be great to hear…!
The 4 story is from Tredegar (pictured is one of those, Honey Bea Art Gallery).
There’s also…
- A yarn-store, community space and knitting resource opening in Abertillery on Saturday;
- A bar / restaurant with live music on the weekends gearing up to open in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire;
- A new sushi bar opening in Crewe town centre on Sunday;
- …adding to neighbouring indies launching in Llanelli town centre (one just before, Christmas, one just after), a second-hand bookshop & cafe just opened in Dunfermline and before long a new Turkish Restaurant & Cafe for Stirling city centre.
And there’ll be more.
As we always say, it’s challenging still and there’s much to do but – especially considering it’s still very early in the 2026 lettings season – there are #HighStreetPositives too.
So a good moment to say huge credit to the owners of all these new businesses and their teams for the ideas and investment and energy they’re devoting.
And to finish – hoping she won’t mind – I wanted to share these words from a post by the owner of Janna’s Bakery in Stirling who’s also behind that new opening there:
“A new chapter. A step forward. A moment I wanted to pause and take in. This journey hasn’t been easy, but it has been full of lessons, growth, and incredible support. I feel very grateful and very proud of how far I’ve come — and excited for what’s ahead.”
