The 2026 Community Barometer report is the first major report into the health of the high street that focuses on putting place first. The Association of Convenience Stores launched the report, which highlights the use of the ‘Makerfield Test’ as a means to deliver good growth on high streets. The ‘Makerfield Test’ is the idea that a policy must work for somewhere like Makerfield or the government ditches it. There is a stark contrast in the report between the high streets that people feel are getting better and those that are getting worse. Across the UK, only Greater London emerged as…