York should go 'back to the future' to save the high street, says a York businessman who's made a success of doing just that.

Angus McArthur, who owns York Ghost Merchants on Shambles with partner David Bloodworth, says what the city needs is more independent small businesses making unique, hand-made products.

Ideally, each business would have a shop down below - and a small workshop above making goods for sale. It could be jewellery, clothes or candles, Mr McArthur says - or, in the case of York Ghost Merchants, tiny ghost figurines that, over the last couple of years, have become prized collectibles.

It is hardly a new idea, Mr McArthur admits. A few hundred years ago, he says, Shambles would have been filled not just with butchers, but also businesses like clog-makers and candle-makers, all making and selling things on the street.

The rise of mass production put an end to all that - shops today are mainly just retailers, selling things made far away.

But even that model is now under threat, he says - and not just because of the pandemic. Long before that struck, the rise of online sales, combined with high city centre rates and businesses, meant that large and small retailers alike were struggling to compete on price with the likes of Amazon.

So why not do something different - and have small local businesses producing and selling in their own local shops products that you can't buy anywhere else? It's a similar concept to artisan restaurants with open kitchens where customers can see their food being cooked, he says.

"The key is to do one thing - and do it brilliantly! Then, if someone wanted to buy something generic, they could go on Amazon. But if they wanted an experience, something they can't get online, they'd think - go into York!"

The big problem, he accepts, is the shortage of small local shops - the empty ones tend to be large premises such as River Island - and the high rents and business rates.

But a community interest company, York Retail Forward, is already looking at potential solutions to that. With the support of City of York Council, York BID and Make It York it hopes to transform a large, empty building in York into an arcade of small shops.

Phil Pinder, the chair of York Retail Forum and a founder director of York Retail Forward, said the arcade model could work in more than one place in York. It's about breaking up big, empty shops into smaller units that are more manageable and affordable, he said.

"We need to get back to more independent, craft-based businesses," Mr Pinder said.

Perhaps little shops with their own workshops above...