EXCLUSIVE: At a time when high streets up and down the country are suffering, this beautiful English town is bucking the trend.
Totnes has more than 125 independent shops in a community of around 8,000 people (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
As we walk through Totnes on a Thursday morning, the streets are buzzing. A beer festival is in full swing, live music is humming through the streets, and locals and tourists are dining al fresco on the pavements outside independent restaurants.
There are no empty retail units, no boarded-up windows and virtually no big chains. This small market town in south Devon is a far cry from so many beleaguered high streets up and down the country, with more than 125 independent businesses serving a community of around 8,000 people. It’s no wonder locals are bursting with pride.
Totnes successfully fought back against Costa Coffee coming to the town (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“People come here to shop in a different way, not because they need a screwdriver, but to shop in a leisurely way, for the fun of it,” says Emily Price, Totnes’s former mayor.
“They come to Totnes to browse for something different, because shopping here is fun and interesting and unusual and you might find a little something you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”
Totnes emerged as an important market town back in the 12th century, and over 800 years later it is still thriving at a time when the UK lost more than 13,000 high street shops in 2024, 11,341 of which were independents. This marked a 45.5% jump compared to 2023.
Retail vacancy rates in Totnes stand at just 2% compared to the national average of 12%, and independents account for approximately eight in 10 traders in the town, according to the latest available data.
The ex-mayor tells us of a population that is “fiercely protective of our high street and our independence”, with a high level of engagement and activism, partly driven by a commitment to the idea of sustainability and doughnut economics.
Emily Price has been Mayor of Totnes three times (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Emily explains: “Rather than a chain where all the money is fed up somewhere else, it creates local employment and local economy. For some people, that’s part of a very deliberate ideology, and within the town, there is a sort of protectiveness of that.”
She proudly recalls the petition against Costa Coffee, when thousands rallied against the firm in 2012 and blocked it from opening in the town, despite being granted planning permission.
She adds: “The more we cling onto the spirit of independent shopping, the more it becomes a desirable place to shop.”
The town’s commitment to sustainability may be traced back to Dartington Hall, a 14th-century estate that was transformed into a trust for environmentalism, sustainability, the arts, and social justice by the wealthy philanthropists Dorothy Elmhirst and her husband Leonard in the 1930s.
People from around the world came to study at the renowned school and, more recently, the Schumacher College, a “one of a kind” leading think tank on environmental sustainability and ecological research.
Emily explains: “As a result, for 100 years, people have come from all over the world with an interest in things like sustainability in resilience, arts and culture, and so on and so on. And they have engaged with Dartington and often ended up staying, and it has created a town ethos.”
Oliver Horrocks is the proud owner of Oliver’s Butchers and Pie Makers (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
After meeting at the historic Guildhall, we wander to a shop that’s been trading as a butcher’s since 1912, now home to Oliver’s Butchers and Pie Makers, proudly taken over by its new owner in March 2022.
The passion for the trade pulsates through owner Oliver Horrocks as he tells us: “There are three butcher’s on the street, which is one of my proudest things to say, you don’t get that in every town.”
With many high streets lucky to even have one butcher’s, he explains how they all manage to remain successful.
He tells us: “Butchery is a brotherhood. We’re not against each other. They specialise in some bits, I specialise in others.
“That’s the special bit about Totnes. It’s a fantastic community, and they will support you. It’s so independent, and people thrive and love it.
“Our main base is local people, and we have a fantastic back and forth which is something we really pride ourselves on. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a magical place. I’ve been doing butchery 17 years.”
They work directly with farmers within a 10 to 15-mile radius, with a strict focus on what goes into the animal or, as he puts it, they offer “the organic side of things without the price tag.”
Everything is also made on-site, including the golden pastries that line the window.
In a trade where the average age is thought to be over 50, Oliver beams as he tells us about the eight employees working for him, including three under 25.
When we ask how he’s managed to attract so many young people to an ageing trade, he smiles: “How many bosses do you see that work next to you and are sweating as hard as you?”
Sarah Massey is general manager and head brewer at Totnes Brewing Company (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
We then wander up the bunting-lined street to the Totnes Brewing Company, which, in addition to having a microbrewery on site, will soon host the Totnes Fringe festival in its eclectic upstairs ballroom — complete with a disco ball and moody red curtains.
Sarah Massey, general manager and head brewer, tells us the company has been making beer for 10 years and, as well as serving four or five of its own tipples, it supports independent craft breweries across the UK.
She is just as enthusiastic about the independent scene as Oliver, and tells us how the community has allowed Totnes’ high street to thrive.
Sarah explains: “It’s rare these days. Totnes is such a vibrant town that it attracts all sorts of individual people and people from all sorts of different backgrounds.
“I think, therefore, you’ve got the market for it where people really still love to support the independence.
“I think it’s a place where people still really appreciate the little things, and I think that the more people support it, the more we can maintain that, and still feel that lovely community.”
We return later in the day to try out some of their beers made on-site, which are magnificent.
Totnes has a lower vacancy rate than the UK average high street (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Tara Vaughan-Hughes co-runs Canteen cafe (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
We wander back down the high street to the colourful courtyard which is home to Canteen, a delicious cafe within The Mansion, an ex-school turned not-for-profit community space, which the co-owner describes as “almost like an incubator space for local businesses”.
Locals can try out pottery or yoga classes or head to the library in the Mansion, before grabbing a best-selling steak sandwich and ice-cold lemonade at the Canteen, both mouth-wateringly tasty.
Sitting at a table in the sun, Tara Vaughan-Hughes tells me: “The idea behind it is just a really casual community-oriented space with really good food.
“I always say, we’re really casual, but we’re really serious about the food. The majority of our food is local, with flavours coming in from all over the world.”
Apart from necessities like olive oil, they try to source locally, and work with two local farmers, the butchers on the high street and, of course, they use Devon cheddar.
Tara adds: “I don’t know how it happens, but everybody really cares. It is an amazing little town. I think it’s got a unique blend of people here, and we do have some national chains on the high street, but not many, so I think there’s a good mix.
“I don’t know how it’s happened, but I love the fact that it continues.”
As we walk up the street, we see that even the late-night takeaway kebab and pizza shop embraces the traditional feel of the town. Without a neon sign in sight, Joe Joes is painted in muted blue and red tones, and prides itself on sourcing ingredients from local suppliers.
We curve around the corner to visit Fretworks, an eclectic music shop run by a filmmaker who confessed to having never owned a music shop before he moved here last January.
Affectionately referring to the town with its nickname, Tobias Fernside summed Totnes’ success up and concludes: “It’s part of Totters’ identity.”
