HIGH STREET CLASSROOM
Mayor Of London
London

CONCIL
TITLE
DESIGNERS
YEAR
CREDITS
PHOTOS

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JA Projects, Architecture 00, Kelly Drake
2024-present
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JA Projects

A learning community of passionate people working to improve London’s high streets and town centres.

View of a busy food stall serving Indian dishes with a menu board displaying options like kebab roll, chicken tikka roll, vegetable curry, and lamb curry. Customers are waiting in line inside the stall, seen through a glass window that reflects outdoor scene with people and trees.

Since January 2024, JA Projects, have been leading a team including Architecture00 and Kelly Drake to develop the High Street Classroom, a programme for the Mayor of London as part of their High Street Network.

The High Street Network is a community of passionate people working to improve London’s high streets and town centres. Our mission is to support high streets to be inclusive, resilient and thriving.

The High Street Classroom is a learning programme of events and activities. Treating London’s high streets as our classroom, we visit projects, learn from each other and collaborate on fresh ideas to help deliver good growth for Londoners.

People standing outside a kebab shop named 'Kebab Hut' on Portland Street, with bicycles parked in front and a street sign indicating 'Portland Street SE17' nearby.

The High Street Classroom programme includes: 

  • Visits to inspiring projects across London 

  • Seminars on important high street topics 

  • Working Groups who come together to innovate and develop solutions to specific challenges 

  • A ‘High Street School of Thought’ coaching offer to support junior Local Authority officers with leadership development

  • Social gatherings 

We recently completed the second ‘Term’ of activities. So far, activities have include:

  • Walking tours led by high street stakeholders and community leaders - from religious leaders in Southall and BID officers in Brixton, to young people in Wood Green and markets teams in Walthamstow

  • Seminars unpicking long-standing and emerging trends and policies with expert panels - from healthcare professionals and GLA Data teams to central government policymakers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

  • Working Groups unpacking the High Street Rental Auctions policy and its implementation in the London context

  • A pilot coaching programme supporting 7 junior Local Authority officers to develop partnership and leadership skills

  • An online platform to distribute research, share best practice and network

Find out more about the High Street Network on the GLA website.

Join the Network here and sign up to events here!

If you have any questions about the network, write to us at hsn@ja-projects.com

Below are a few highlights from the first series of events.