The demise of town centres

It is rather depressing to read about the demise of once thriving town centres but I suppose the next generation will want things different again.

I know young people who buy all their clothes - even shoes - online. They just send back the ones which don't fit
I really think we will be explaining to the DGC what a shop was!

The pound shops and "variety" stores survive on the high street but for tools, DIY, outdoor gear there is the industrial estate. Are the rates lower?

The garden centres have become retail parks.

I went to the ATM and found it had gone! Now my nearest is a long walk away.
Mustn't grumble. At least we have what we need but I do miss window shopping. Now it's all on your phone.

Gwenisgreat1

Surely if councils halved the business rates, more shops would be able to afford them and we'd probably hold on to existing businesses a many more of the empty shops would be providing more services. The council would Gert the same amount in rates from double the businesses - simple!

But it's not simple, is it? If people wanted shops then shops would flourish. As it is, a lot of people just don't want to go into physical shops - they prefer to order online and have things delivered. It's not just about the rates (although I agree that these are often prohibitive after the introductory rate for new businesses is over). If people don't want to go into shops to buy things, then even if rates were abolished there would be no profit.

Councils should think outside the box, and make town centres places for people to work and play, not just shop. Cafes, restaurants, cinemas, bowling allies, community centres for classes and meetings of clubs, toddler groups, reading rooms - all those things and more could take over retail premises. Small traders could rent stalls on a weekly or monthly basis, which would allow startups to test the water at a low risk. There might be less of the easy profit than they get from sitting back and pocketing rent and rates, but users could be charged fees, and councils who get it right could demand more in council tax from their residents, or a percentage of the profits from the businesses could go to the council to subsidise the community uses. I do't know - I'm not a town planner or a politician, but even I can see that harking back to the days when people shopped locally is pointless.

Where I live, I’m between two small towns. We have Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsburys all in the town centres not out of town. Also, independent pharmacy, Boots, nice coffee shops that are locally owned, a few boutiques, banks (!) local craft type shops, hairdressers, barbers (not foreign owned) and both little towns are thriving. Plus many more. We buy a yearly parking permit and then we park for as long as we like in the car parks. For bigger shops- electricals etc, we drive to bigger towns or, like others, order online.

Surely if councils halved the business rates, more shops would be able to afford them and we'd probably hold on to existing businesses a many more of the empty shops would be providing more services. The council would Gert the same amount in rates from double the businesses - simple!

I campaigned against out of town malls 35 years ago as an active Green Party member, for all the good it did. Now I'm watching Stroud in Goucestershire (voted the best place to live in the UK, apparently!) just die. So many shops have closed, leaving cafes and charity shops. There's now an indoor market, which does its best but I find it dark and rather smelly. Such a shame!

I use the local shops and especially the local market as much as I can. As a widow living alone they provide options to buy a mix of things in small amounts not always wrapped in large sizes. However one of the things that councils seem to think they can do is shutting public toilets, and charging ridiculous parking costs. They are a big thing that stops people shopping locally, so that they are their own worst enemy making it difficult to use the shops . When I am having mobility problems I cannot park and walk a long way, so I either have to wait until I feel better and able to go or get things delivered. I much prefer choosing my own things and as for clothes I want to feel the material and look at things and not faff about sending clothes back to places. So I continue to support local places but it is becoming difficult to do this.

I should add that the pharmacy is also in the row due to be demolished and it is unlikely that Morrisons will transfer their pharmacy into the small new store.

We're in outer London and our own town (which isn't huge) is undergoing massive housing development. Our only local supermarket, Morrisons, is moving to a new store underneath a tower block. We have a good-sized store at the moment but I think that the new one will be much smaller and won't have a car park. Is it any wonder that people drive elsewhere to a bigger store where they can simply put their shopping in the car?
In our immediate area we have lost both our banks and the Post Office but at the moment there is a sub post office in a newsagent. We have also lost our local sorting office and I have no idea where to go to collect packages now.
On the plus side we do have an excellent middle eastern grocery store which sells truly wonderful fruit and veg, exotic store cupboard goods, dairy products, fresh meat and a good selection of basics. The owner is friendly, makes everyone welcome and his prices really aren't too bad.
The most worrying thing is that the row containing the sub Post Office and grocery store is due to be demolished within the next few years, as are most of the existing shops, so we don't really know if they will be able to re-locate into the planned new premises which will doubtless be much more expensive.
If we go into London on the bus we have Chiswick 15 minutes away, which has lost many of its previous excellent independent shops. However there is an M&S, a Sainsburys, a Waitrose and a mini Tesco so we are very well off for food shopping. Going to the high street used to be an interesting experience, with a wide range of independent stores and lots to see, but it is much more limited now.
Fortunately it is an affluent area and we hope that we won't lose any more shops.

Our local town in France is still thriving with four or five butchers, bakers and charcuteries, clothes shops, pharmacies, bookshops, cafés in the town centre. The other side of it is that we still have no real online shopping, though you can order (a limited selection) from the local supermarkets online and then go and collect it yourself. I think France has a very active policy of protecting local shops.

M & Co are closing in our small town, but Edinburgh Woollen Mill is opening, that's a good swap. There's talk of M & S food coming too. We have lots of independent cafés, cake shops, cheese shop, hardware, dry cleaners. Art shops, craft shop, pottery designing, outdoor shops, pet shop, hairdressers etc. A library, swimming pool, cinema. I use them all, far more choice than the part of London I used to live in. Always busy, admittedly several charity shops in addition, but no shops empty.
The problem is the narrow streets, and the lack of parking which is expensive too.

I live in a smallish town in the North West of England and I’m happy to say that our High Street appears to be thriving. We’re lucky in that we have a lovely promenade to walk all year round so lots of visitors which keeps the town centre busy with cafes and coffee shops. However our council has never allowed large supermarkets and I think that has allowed our shops to keep alive. There are no empty shops at the moment and they seem to be filled as soon as they’re vacant.

I can think of lots of other things I buy in town growstuff. Bread and cakes are nicest from our small baker, I get my shoes repaired, watch and car key batteries replaced, go to the library, the deli, the butchers, the dry cleaners, the hardware shop, the cinema, the health food shop, and get my car service and tyres. I suppose we all consume different products, but there’s still a place for town centres, especially when you live 20+ miles away from an out of town shopping outlet - most of which don’t provide all the things I want.

grandtante It's all very well for a council to deny planning permission for large out-of-town centres, but these can often come under a different planning authority from small towns.

I don't often visit an out-of-town centre, but when I do, it's in a different county because I live near a county border. I buy most items online because it's so much easier, there's a far bigger choice and I don't have to go traipsing round loads of shops to buy an unusual item.

Thinking back over the last couple of months, I've used my high street for the pharmacy, hairdresser, opticians, dentist, to buy a special greetings card and I had a wander around some charity shops. My partner bought me a coffee in one of the independent cafes. I can't think what else I'd want.

I guess I am lucky because my city seems to be attracting shops back to the centre due to cruise ships. While there out large out of town development we are seeing more local budget shops open up. I now have a B&M, a Lidl an Aldi and a B&Q right on my door step as well as a farm shop much more environmentally friendly no cars needed for locals.

I'm a Goggle Maps geek and last week fell to going on street view to the local shopping parades in all the places I've lived in England. - North, Midlands and South East. All of them (naice areas or rough) have declined. The common survivors are:- a general store and or incorporating a post office, a takeaway, a pharmacy, and one of hair/nail/beauty. Many have a single 'other' - online gaming, funeral director, pet shop etc. They say use it or lose it but I admit since leaving home in 1965, I've really only shopped local when had no car and the purchase was urgent.

Same with our town centre lots of empty shops, we have more retail parks here now with free parking, whereas if we go to town the parking prices, are very expensive and buses or trams are not cheap either.

We returned to Bournemouth after our previous visit 12 months ago (we live in Devon). Boy was it a shock. Most of the shops had closed - first Beales, Debenhams, House of Fraser plus smaller ones. So upsetting to see the decline

My biggest moan is my nearby local shops that has closed our really good fish and chip shop (it has been gone for over one year now) I miss having it there so much, it was not a weekly thing for me to buy from there but often I went in there for a bag of chips and maybe once a month for the full fish and chips. It was always busy at the lunchtime with many going in there for sausage and chips and fish.
I heard he had to close as he could no longer compete with rising cost of potatoes and fresh fish as prices too high.
My next nearest fish shop is only ten minutes but it is off a main road and difficult to park and it doubles up as chicken and burger shop anyway.
Living in an area without a decent fish shop is awful and having kebab shops and chicken shops does not do it for me I
want the the good old chip shop.

I struggle physically to get around, but one of the main reasons (apart from the lack of legal parking spaces ) is the lack of shops I actually want to go to, I can get almost everything I need online.
The other issue is when I do go into town, there is a lack of people I am able to talk to. The vast majority of people aren't capable of speaking English. I can communicate easily in the language of this country, and will talk to almost anyone, but I get nothing back...
I really hope nobody thinks this makes me racist, because I'm not, it is a genuine observation.

My local town centre is full of men's barber shops, nail bars, charity shops and expensive coffee shops. I used to get the train to a bigger town, but no longer go as the train fare is £7.10 return for a 9 minute journey (its not a high speed train). I just order items off the Internet. Delivery charge is quite often free.

Online shopping has closed stores. I am a guilty party, saves going into town where parking can be difficult.

This is the trouble everywhere when large shopping centres are built with adequate parking facilities.

For most consumers, it is far easier to drive to a shopping centre, do all your shopping in one place, and not have to circle round back streets for an age to find a parking place, where you only may park for a limited time.

Shops in city centres do not have parking very often for their customers, so car owners will only shop there it if it absolutely necessary.

What is needed here if for everyone from us the general public to municipal and government politicians to make up our minds that the environment matters a great deal more than car owners' convenience.

Deny planning permission to new shopping centres, increase parking charges at existing centres, lower rent in mid-city shops and lower the price of public transport, making it economical for shoppers to take a bus, tram or train. Have designated parking places for those who through disability cannot take public transport and have to drive.

I realise the public and large chains of shops will complain bitterly, but if we want to save the environment these changes will have to come, even if more and more drivers opt for electric cars.

It’s called “urban sprawl” and is dangerous for small businesses in-town. As long as governing municipalities approve of new development on the outskirts of town (all in the name of progress and getting more tax dollars), they will approve the zoning for growth.

The harm is always done to the long established business owners on Main Street, because people do flock to newer stores for a number of reasons.

My hometown in Iowa USA almost died because of this, and it took years for new owners to come in (and existing owners) to refashion a new vision for the downtown in order to save the community and not let it die.

They were lucky - it worked. But it’s not always successful everywhere else. I’m sure this is the same conundrum elsewhere, such as where you live.
Good luck in saving these town centers!
USA Gundy

What's your actual complaint? Can you obtain everything you need? WHERE you obtain it doesn't matter too much.

orly

Greyduster

I paid a rare visit to our town centre last week and I was shocked at the decline. We are one of the largest cities in England and many of our major retailers have closed down: John Lewis and Debenhams to name but two. We are expecting M&S to be the next to add to the death knell. The council don’t seem to have a clue at how to make the city an attractive place to do business. Having a very large out of town retail park doesn’t help, or the increase in online shopping.

"I paid a rare visit...".

Isn't that the problem? Which came first? The rare visit or the shop closures?

No, it's not the problem. I, for one, would visit the city centre far more often if there was a good reason to go there.
Apart from the demise of the interesting and friendly local shops and businesses, Exeter is victim to a burgeoning preponderance of uninteresting and utilitarian new buildings, devoid of any semblance of architecture, particularly university student accommodation. Victorian architects and builders would turn in their graves......