THE QUESTION
Why do high-street shops keep closing?
Spend your stickers on what matters most. An idea with evidence can take a held seat.
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One per idea, 5 total. Floor is one vote.
5 places are held for overlooked ideas — nominate one with a link, and it counts once 2 people agree the source is relevant.
why
At stage close one nominee enters by random draw and the rest by nomination count, at most one per stakeholder class. A model checks only whether the page is about the same subject — never whether it proves the claim. That judgement is the room's, and a nomination nobody else stands behind takes no seat.
CLUSTER 1
Rent is due quarterly in advance, which a new business cannot fund
10 votesdiscuss
Rents were set when the street was full and have not come down
To be precise: this is about the town's arrangements, not any landlord or trader.
11 votesdiscuss
The council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street
2 votesdiscuss
CLUSTER 2
The bus stops on the ring road, ten minutes' walk from the shops
I mean this is what traders say when you ask them.
3 votesdiscussing (1)
Shops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at work
9 votesdiscuss
CLUSTER 3
The town's website lists shops that closed years ago
2 votesdiscuss
Nobody counts footfall, so every argument is about impressions
1 votesdiscuss
CLUSTER 4
Traders' association meetings are attended by the same five people
7 votesdiscuss
Events are organised by volunteers who are burning out
6 votesdiscuss
CLUSTER 5
Grants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease
I mean this is what traders say when you ask them.
4 votesdiscuss
Planning permission for a flat above a shop takes longer than for a house
I mean this is what traders say when you ask them.
0 votesdiscuss
NOT CLUSTERED
The car park behind the street is unlit and unsigned
4 votesdiscuss
The retail park got its road built by the county; the high street got a consultation
4 votesdiscuss
Deliveries block the street between nine and eleven
To be precise: this is about the town's arrangements, not any landlord or trader.
1 votesdiscussing (1)
The one bank left and the older shoppers went with it
6 votesin focus ↑ · close ✕
Business rates on the high street are higher per square metre than on the park
3 votesdiscuss
The library closed early on Saturdays and the café next to it lost its trade
Scope: the high street, not the whole town.
1 votesdiscuss
Half the units are owned by people who do not live in the town
1 votesdiscuss
The market moved to Wednesday and the shops' best day went with it
5 votesdiscuss
Charity shops pay lower rates, so landlords prefer them
6 votesdiscuss
Parking costs more on the high street than at the retail park, where it is free
6 votesdiscuss
Residents drive past the high street on the way to the park
9 votesdiscuss
Empty units stay empty for a year because the landlord is waiting for a chain
14 votesdiscuss
Young families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pram
Scope: the high street, not the whole town.
9 votesdiscuss
Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep them
6 votesdiscuss
Shopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came in
I mean this is what traders say when you ask them.
3 votes
↳ nominated for a seat: https://example.org/ops-incident-review.pdf could not read it (HTTPError) 1 of 2 behind it
discuss