Shrewsbury names as one of Britain's healthiest high streets

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has published a league table ranking 70 of Britain’s major towns and cities by the impact of their high streets on the public’s health and well-being.

Shrewsbury came 4th in the national list for having a high street which relatively free of off-licences, fast food outlets and empty shops.

Grimsby was ranked the unhealthiest high street in the country.

The league table features in the new RSPH report, Health on the High Street: Running on empty, which follows on from the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of a package of measures designed to reinvigorate the nation’s high streets. This is a follow up report to the original RSPH Health on the High Street published in 2015, and assesses changes in British retail areas over the past three years.

The report updates the methodology used in 2015, to reflect the changing face of the British high street, adding off-licences and empty shops to the negative influences on health, and cafes and vape shops to the positive influences.

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services, health and social housing, said:

“This is great news and something that we should be really proud of, particularly at a time when we’re trying to help people to stay fit and healthy.”

Nic Laurens, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for economic growth, added:

“Shrewsbury has a lot to offer and is a place which visitors flock to, to experience its individuality and history, as well as its excellent shops and eateries. So, it’s no great surprise that it’s home to one of the healthiest high streets in the country.

“It further confirms that Shrewsbury’s economy is doing well, despite the national trend, and we’re looking forward to building on this with our exciting plans for the future.”