Is your High Street dying??

[pastafreak]

I went into town the other day,and noticed that the local Principles was closed....seems it is another victim of the economic downturn.......and our towncentre is resembling a ghost town in places.
Only the shopping mall seems to be thriving....

how is your town doing??

[4getmenot]

at least you have a shopping mall,. We have 3 charity shops and a superdrug!!

[ChuckFickens]

The village I live in is OK, has quite a good selection of shops for a village including some fairly obscure little ones (a teddy bear shop for example!) but my local bigger towns do have quite a lot of empty shops on the high streets!

[redcrx]

weve lost woolies, a camping shop, a sports shop, Adams and a couple of shoe shops.

and heard the other day that we are getting a Costa Coffee. WHY?? if we cant afford to keep the shops open why would we want an expensive coffee shop?

[monkeyeyes]

The shops that used to be independent traders closed down some while ago.........then the empty units became Estate Agencies..........these have slowly been closing and the units remain empty, OR they are taken over by Charities selling second-hand goods and furniture, OR they have been taken over by clothiers selling inferior, tatty clothes..........

[mccfluff]

not really, well woolies has left a gaping whole but we have 2 shopping mall thingies, one in the town centre and one outside and they are always pretty rammed. In town you can't get down the main strreet as its usually blocked by chavs mums and their 30 kids, pushchairs etc etc

euugh got to go to the bank soon and its market day, so that means 5 mins in the bank and an hour trying to park and get through town

[B00]

I can honestly see the closure of EVERY small shop in most town centres.

With the likes of Asda, Tesco etc selling everything under one roof often far cheaper, I fail to see how small independant retailers can compete.

[legendis.god]

even the crisis hitting here


lesss hairdressers


and clothes shops




price war betweeen bars tooo



beer gone up by brewery

yet its now down to 90 cents a pint

[pastafreak]

It IS worrying....but I wonder if it may see the return of smaller more independent shops...which could only be a good thing.
Hey 4get,,,we have 6 charity shops.....guess that means we are thriving...lol

[redcrx]

what i dont understand is that we are full of charity shops because they dont pay rates. Why cant the council let small independant stores off the rates for a period of time whilst they establish? Long term the council have a better chance of getting something out of them if they thrive.

[lindylou16]

Saw a sign saying "Stationary shop moving" and thought that can't be right.

[Dollychris]

It is such a pity as our local town used to be bustling and a meeting place for all in years gone by but not anymore. All charity shops and estate agents and now the local market and Woolworths are gone it just isn't the same. There used to be 2 little market cafes in the where people would meet for a chat and a cuppa/home made cake/roast lunch/snack but nowhere to go now. The local trader has been priced out of the market by the big supermarkets - such a shame.

[pastafreak]

it is mostly the biggies closing here.....all these shops standing empty in the town centre may mean the council and owners may have to develop strategies to get new businesses in.

[monkeyeyes]

redcrx - What a preposterous idea........!!

Why, that would mean that there would have to be people with a modicum of common sense running the council........and when is that likely to happen ?!? :o)

[lindylou16]

My brother has got the answer
he's very competitive with his prices.
If you find the same product cheaper at another shop, he'll go round and smash their windows.

[redcrx]

LOL @ we have occasionally had some sencisble councillors here, but the idiots vote against them all the time and they evenutally give up.

[redcrx]

lol Lindylou

[pastafreak]

LOL @ lindy !!...one way to get rid of competition

[Connemmara]

Yes I noticed last week I had to go into town have not been there since Christmas and I could not believe all the shutters - I nearly cried and just ran home could not shop anymore

[JimmyCooper]

Monkey - Redcrx is right.

I live by the merry Hill centre and nearly 20 years ago all the major stores moved there because the council offered premises RATE FREE for 5 years

Plus the council started charging for parking in the local high streets whereas at merry hill there was no charge

[McMouse]

I live in an expensive property area and the local shops have been cashing in for years with very high prices. Many are now closing down because the local population realise they are being scalped and have started shopping elsewhere. Example...local BP garage sells diesel at �1.02 per litre. BP 6 miles away (with competition from Shell) is �0.98 per litre.