So many shops closing down

[dextrous63]

Well LQ, one hopes that you move to the appropriate side of the border before the UK undergoes a similar partitioning as happened in 1947 in India😬😉

[klondike]

No, I don't remember a fountain in the market square,  but I haven't been into the town centre for several years now.

It was put there as part of the last Market Square revamp where they had a consultation on what should be done then ignored the result and did what they always planned. The whole project must have cost a fortune and looked a tip in very short order as they never cleaned it. The fountain was easily missed only being about 10 feet or so across opposite the big bookies and corner fag shop close to the closed down cottaging toilets across the road behind All Saints.

[JBR]

Our small town now comprises two small supermarkets, a corner shop, two pubs, one DIY store, a ladies' hairdresser where Marge goes (though they don't deal in drugs as far as I know), and the rest are all 'eating places' of various cuisines.  Perfectly adequate for most of our routine needs, though we occasionally drive out to supermarkets if we need specific things not available locally.  We live in a perfectly nice and (so far) safe area, and are happy here.

There is also Didsbury just up the road, where there is a much wider range of shops and other outlets (including our vet), but that suffers from a dreadful lack of parking.

The only occasions when we go out further are when we want to see something different or go for a walk, even in this foul weather, or when Marge wants to go and see her mother in Bradfordistan (I don't go!).

[Mups]

It was put there as part of the last Market Square revamp where they had a consultation on what should be done then ignored the result and did what they always planned. The whole project must have cost a fortune and looked a tip in very short order as they never cleaned it. The fountain was easily missed only being about 10 feet or so across opposite the big bookies and corner fag shop close to the closed down cottaging toilets across the road behind All Saints.

Why are so many changes usually for the worst, and not the better? 

Vast amounts of money must be wasted,  which could be better spent on things like road repairs, and repainting all the white road markings.

Some of these twerps in the offices ought to get the elbow if their ideas are big failures, and lose money.

[Ashy]

It was put there as part of the last Market Square revamp where they had a consultation on what should be done then ignored the result and did what they always planned. The whole project must have cost a fortune and looked a tip in very short order as they never cleaned it. The fountain was easily missed only being about 10 feet or so across opposite the big bookies and corner fag shop close to the closed down cottaging toilets across the road behind All Saints.

I believe these councils issue their sham consultations after they've already let the contracts for what they want to do.

[klondike]

I took a walk to town to check on progress.

The conversion of Debenhams to student accomodation is complete and actually looks quite posh.

The market square looks to be pretty much complete. In days of yore it would have been packed with stalls and people on a Friday but today it wasn't busy and I hope those who took over the few permanent stalls/shops aren't paying too much. There were a few temporary stalls in use selling mostly of the type of things traders do at car boots.

There are still plenty of plastic barriers in Abington Street fencing off areas that are incomplete but at least they mostly only run down one side now rather that both with narrow gaps to the shops each side and down the middle.

Still no takers for the old BHS or M&S plus plenty more empty.

[Mups]

Lovely clear pictures, Klondike.  Wish I could get mine like that.

It's a great pity we are losing so many of our old and trusted shops where we could have a nice browse.

I wouldn't think many people our age would opt for a selection of tattoo parlours, vaping shops, and nail bars to browse around from choice!

[Cassandra]

It's a paradigm shift from the unreliability of anything outside the 80/20 (fast moving line) category being in stock, to the guarantee of the same, or lower price on Amazon freely delivered to your door at the effort of a click. No parking fines, no walking for miles, no risk of being mown down by 'Scooter Gangs', or of them stealing your phone, watch, teeth etc.

[Scrumpy]

We still have our M&S in Reigate but selling food only..
We have coffee shops and charity shops.. Our clothes shops are a little expensive which makes the charity shops a pleasure to shop in.. My favourite coat was purchased for just 15 pounds.. I'm not proud.. If I like something I care not that it was purchased in a Charity shop..

Our nearby M&S ( In another town) was a big store over two floors.. It closed in August.. It's closing has destroyed the town.. It is still paying rental on the store... But no sign of another store replacement.. I fear that M&S will disappear over time... A bit like our many Woolworths stores that closed down years ago..

January 03, 2025, 04:24:24 PM

No parking fines, no walking for miles, no risk of being mown down by 'Scooter Gangs', or of them stealing your phone, watch, teeth etc.

Teeth !!!!!! So funny.. 😂
That's where superglue comes in handy..

[klondike]

[Mups]

What a depressing video.   But I worry a lot of  what he says is true though.  You can see it coming.

[klondike]

I enjoyed one of his comments about Rachel Reeves in a different video.

Economist? She was no economist she made the tea in the HSBC complaints department. I bet it was crap tea too. 

[GrannyMac]

Our small town now comprises two small supermarkets, a corner shop, two pubs, one DIY store, a ladies' hairdresser where Marge goes (though they don't deal in drugs as far as I know), and the rest are all 'eating places' of various cuisines.  Perfectly adequate for most of our routine needs, though we occasionally drive out to supermarkets if we need specific things not available locally.  We live in a perfectly nice and (so far) safe area, and are happy here.

There is also Didsbury just up the road, where there is a much wider range of shops and other outlets (including our vet), but that suffers from a dreadful lack of parking.

The only occasions when we go out further are when we want to see something different or go for a walk, even in this foul weather, or when Marge wants to go and see her mother in Bradfordistan (I don't go!).

Some really nice bits of Cheshire JBR, Didsbury being one!  When our son moved there to work, he house shared in some really nice areas, including Hale Barns and Altrincham.  We were in Cheshire for Christmas, not far from Congleton.  A nice change from the city for us.

[dextrous63]

Hale barns is lovely (I have tuttees in that area), but it's shopping "precinct" is a bit odd and dominated by an Asda (which used to be Booths) and a Costa Coffee.  

As for Altrincham and Didsbury, they are affluent areas (like my place of upbringing - Chiswick in West London), and so rarely suffer during tough financial times and so the shops are able to maintain their customer bases.  That's my theory, anyway.