We’ve been hearing a lot in the media recently about how town and city centres are having to adapt to respond to the evolving retail environment. The rise of internet shopping has seen instore footfall and sales drop and the number of vacant units creep up. Retailers who have a strong online presence are surviving, but those without it are generally finding it more difficult.

Readers may have seen work taking place on the first floor of the Eastgate Shopping Centre where, years ago, the Food Court used to be. This is to create the UK Digital Retail Innovation Centre UKDRIC). The project is being led by Marketing Gloucester and supported by £400,000 of Government funding through the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Centre will include co-working space and an exhibition area where retailers can safely trial the use of technologies without exposing them to their own customer-facing outlets, building on the city’s aspiration to be a test-bed for new technologies. Our combined city centre CCTV/wifi/4G solution is a good example of this.

The city rose from 50th to 12th in the UK Digital Influence Index

Gloucester has been working hard to get its city centre traders operating in the digital age, through the Digital High Street programme. The city has risen from 50th to 12th in the UK Digital Influence Index and last year beat 40 other places to be awarded the Best Digital High Street project by the Association of Town and City Management.

In last year’s Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced a £675 million Future High Street fund to help towns and cities adapt to the new world. The City Council is working on Gloucester’s bid and an expansion of the UKDRIC is a strong contender to be included.

The investment at Kings Walk, which should start shortly, shows that retail is still important to the city centre’s future, but it has to be about much more than that. More people living and working in the city centre, more events and cultural activities, more services being delivered in the heart of the centre and making the most of our heritage are just some of the ways in which it will adapt. If we can successfully achieve this, its future can be bright.