Often, the heartbeat of a community, what makes a great high street? You can find everything from fitness studios to artisan bakeries and independent boutiques in the most thriving neighbourhoods—with a good nearby high street increasingly important for many homebuyers, especially in Bristol.
That’s why estate agents Knight Frank analysed the performance of high streets across the UK. The study identified the top 150 nationwide, measuring factors like a mix of shops, presence of well-regarded brands, and indicators of resilience, including low vacancy rates and business rates above the national average.
“Understanding the performance of our high streets allows us to explore broader relationships to social impact, amenity value, and property markets,” says Johan Hagstrom, Data Scientist at Knight Frank. “Our goal was to develop a data-driven approach to identify and rank every identifiable high street location in the UK based on quantifiable indicators.”
What does the study show?
The top three high streets in the UK are all in London (Wimbledon Village, St John’s Wood, and Hampstead), while the fourth spot went to Marlow in Buckinghamshire. Breaking away from the South East, Bristol was the surprising recipient of the fifth and final place in the list.
While the likes of Gloucester Road or North Street could easily find themselves on an alternative list, the winner here is Clifton Village. Particularly, the area around Princess Victoria Street, but also bits of Boyce’s Avenue and beyond, is also mentioned.
Clifton’s status as a conservation area, preserving “its historic character”, as the recent pedestrianisation of Princess Victoria Street is a big part of its appeal. But so is a plethora of independent and family-owned businesses, from florists and bookshops to jewellers.
“Once people are here, they don’t want to leave,” Xara Grigg, a Negotiator at Knight Frank’s Bristol office in Clifton, said: “I particularly love Spicer and Cole, Mercy Mercy Mercy, as well as Burra, which was set up by professional rugby players from the Bristol Bears.”
Just some of my favourite businesses in Clifton Village include: Heron Books, Focus on the Past, The Clifton Sausage, Reg The Veg, Primrose Cafe, Eat A Pita, The Cori Tap, Nutmeg, The Bristol Fringe, Clifton Community Bookshop, Clifton Village Fish Bar, and countless more that I’m forgetting about!
To read more about the UK’s best high streets, head here.