London’s High Street Place Labs: East Ham and North Finchley

We are working with the London Borough of Newham and the London Borough of Barnet to develop place-based strategies for East Ham and North Finchley as part of the Greater London Authority's High Streets Place Labs programme that brings together 12 London high streets.

Both commissions respond to the complex realities facing outer London town centres: fragmented identities, changing retail landscapes, and the need for governance structures that sustain long-term partnership working. Our approach focuses on creating investment-ready high street strategies that balance immediate activation opportunities with the foundations for lasting change, working alongside Retail Revival to develop governance models that empower local businesses and communities.

The High Streets Place Labs programme provides £600,000 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund investment across 12 London high streets, continuing the GLA's High Streets for All and Civic Partnership Programme work. The funding supports boroughs to develop strategies that attract investment and build capacity for long-term growth. For East Ham and North Finchley, this means addressing distinct challenges while working within the same fundamental reality: outer London high streets need clear visions, strong partnerships, and delivery pathways that work within constrained resources.

East Ham High Street

In East Ham, we are developing a strategy that addresses the town centre's fragmented identity. Despite strong transport connections and significant civic assets including East Ham Town Hall, the high street lacks coherence. Previous investments have not catalysed the wider regeneration needed and The High Street Task Force identified lack of animation as the key barrier to transformation.

Our work tests and refines a unifying theme centred on local culture, food, hospitality, and youth activity. We are working to connect underutilised assets including East Ham Town Hall, Pilgrim's Way Market, and the recent Market Place development, while exploring how anchor tenants like Primark can better integrate with the broader high street offer.

A critical strand involves developing a clear pathway to establish a Business Improvement District. This requires careful relationship-building in East Ham's challenging small and medium enterprise environment, where many businesses operate in isolation. Working with Retail Revival, we are facilitating engagement workshops with local groups, businesses, and youth groups to shape the future of the high street.

North Finchley High Street

In North Finchley, the challenge is different. The town centre benefits from extensive previous studies including a Supplementary Planning Document, Cultural Action Plan, and Wayfinding Strategy and emerging public realm framework. Our role involves synthesising this work into a practical action plan while avoiding consultation fatigue among a community that has experienced significant engagement.

North Finchley's linear High Road structure creates specific constraints for placemaking within fragmented ownership patterns. We are identifying strategic intervention points that maximise impact, building on the area's cultural strengths including artsdepot, multiple dance schools, and live music venues. The strategy explores how North Finchley can evolve as a cultural production hub while strengthening its evening economy.

The strategies establish frameworks for coordinated action, create pipelines of investment-ready projects spanning different scales and timeframes, and set out governance pathways that sustain momentum beyond our work.

Working on both projects simultaneously through the High Streets Place Labs reveals how similar challenges manifest differently depending on local context. East Ham needs to forge new partnerships and establish shared identity. North Finchley needs to translate existing commitment into delivery-ready proposals. Both require spatial strategies that work within real constraints while maintaining ambitious visions for outer London high streets.

Read more on the High Street Place Labs programme here.