‘It’s just vape shops, nail shops, charity shops’: Can anything save the British high street?

It’s 20 years since Jo and Richard Hill bought anything in Rotherham city centre. Why have they and so many locals abandoned it for the nearest retail park – and what would it take to change their minds?

On 22 May 1987, retail history was made in Rotherham. Parkgate Retail World, thought at the time to be the UK’s largest open-air shopping centre, welcomed shoppers for some one-stop retail therapy. The official opening was marked in swanky fashion with a “breathtaking” display from Marlboro’s red-and-white branded biplanes, followed by a “spectacular” laser show, the first in South Yorkshire. Helen Worth – Coronation Street’s Gail Platt – cut the ribbon before jovial local people jostled to fill their car boots with goods from Comet, Jolly Giant and Poundstretcher.