Recommendation 136

As well as boosting footfall to the benefit of local businesses, high streets are also a practical location for the delivery of the services themselves as they are often more accessible to local communities. 274 In 2021, the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust proposed relocating some of the services delivered at the Stepping Hill Hospital to the site of a vacant department store in the town centre. 275 A motion from the local council at the time supported these proposals in part because the town centre location would “be more accessible, close to public transport interchanges, and potentially contribute to levelling up and regenerating the Town Centre” 276 . The same is true of other council services: young people living in Lancaster told us that they would like to see greater library study provision in the town centre. 277