The death of the high street.
Discussion
In Lancashire at the moment there is quite a battle going on re the county councils plans to introduce parking charges in car parks and meters on the main streets .. where currently all parking is free
There is massive opposition to this locally from councillors, residents and businesses but the County council is pressing ahead
Places like Clitheroe and Great Harwood are doing pretty well and one of the main attractions is free and easy parking
There is massive opposition to this locally from councillors, residents and businesses but the County council is pressing ahead
Places like Clitheroe and Great Harwood are doing pretty well and one of the main attractions is free and easy parking
Earthdweller said:
In Lancashire at the moment there is quite a battle going on re the county councils plans to introduce parking charges in car parks and meters on the main streets .. where currently all parking is free
There is massive opposition to this locally from councillors, residents and businesses but the County council is pressing ahead
"Never mind sense & reason, we want the money!"There is massive opposition to this locally from councillors, residents and businesses but the County council is pressing ahead
Rovinghawk said:
"Never mind sense & reason, we want the money!"
Indeed, plus some middle manager at the council wants to put "deployed £x million parking scheme successfully" on their annual appraisal and CV.I also agree with the above poster who suggested that many town centres would be improved by knocking down the empty shops. I suspect these same towns have a shortage of housing so that's a good alternative use for the land.
Walked passed and Officers Club/Blue Inc clothing store on Saturday, closed.
Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
996owner said:
Walked passed and Officers Club/Blue Inc clothing store on Saturday, closed.
Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
I'd never even heard of them!Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
walm said:
glazbagun said:
Those shops are facing the magnificent Burtons building (another retailer I'm surprised is going- do they own all of their shops outright?). Cornerstone by Mr Burton himself.
It's part of Philip Green's empire so may not be "going" on a standalone basis.soxboy said:
996owner said:
Walked passed and Officers Club/Blue Inc clothing store on Saturday, closed.
Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
I'd never even heard of them!Looks like they too have gone again.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/12/blue-...
Edited by 996owner on Thursday 17th January 14:15
Edited by 996owner on Thursday 17th January 15:13
@ lemming train:
I knew the cavery place you are talking about, though I think it closed years ago.
@classicaholic, I remember going to the helidays events - they were great. WSM does still run an airshow of sorts - its actually quite good, though no landing on the beach lawns any more
In the interests of objectivity I wasn't being fair to North Somerset Council when I said they'd borrowed money to buy the retail park.
It appears they borrowed money to buy the retail park AND buy the high street shopping centre!
I knew the cavery place you are talking about, though I think it closed years ago.
@classicaholic, I remember going to the helidays events - they were great. WSM does still run an airshow of sorts - its actually quite good, though no landing on the beach lawns any more
In the interests of objectivity I wasn't being fair to North Somerset Council when I said they'd borrowed money to buy the retail park.
It appears they borrowed money to buy the retail park AND buy the high street shopping centre!
http://www.auction.co.uk/commercial/LotDetails.asp...
Fancy a shopping centre? £1 reserve.
2/3rds empty and two tennants paying no rent. What's not to like?
Fancy a shopping centre? £1 reserve.
2/3rds empty and two tennants paying no rent. What's not to like?
I feel a little guilty for bringing up Kirkcaldy now. It was a great place to live when I was there in hindsight!
The council must shoulder a lot of the blame for the centres downfall- they improved the roads out of town (big pluss for a commuter town!) and allowed massive retail park right next to the great roads.
Then told Tesco they had to stay in that same shopping centre you posted rather than the retail parks Asda/Sainsbury werexallowed to use. So Tesco just shut down, which was the fatal blow I think.
It's a real sign of how it's changed though- the high street is over a mile long, has two shopping centres and was served by a large central bus station. What more should you need? (cheap car parking!)
It was a great place to live when I was there in hindsight!The council must shoulder a lot of the blame for the centres downfall- they improved the roads out of town (big pluss for a commuter town!) and allowed massive retail park right next to the great roads.
Then told Tesco they had to stay in that same shopping centre you posted rather than the retail parks Asda/Sainsbury werexallowed to use. So Tesco just shut down, which was the fatal blow I think.
It's a real sign of how it's changed though- the high street is over a mile long, has two shopping centres and was served by a large central bus station. What more should you need? (cheap car parking!)
Whoever said that shops need to open later has got it spot on. High Street and Shopping Centre opening hours haven't changed in response to changes in society since the 70s when women stopped being housewives and started going to work in greater numbers.
Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 f
king years to get used to eCommerce.
Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 f
king years to get used to eCommerce.Truckosaurus said:
Rovinghawk said:
"Never mind sense & reason, we want the money!"
Indeed, plus some middle manager at the council wants to put "deployed £x million parking scheme successfully" on their annual appraisal and CV.I also agree with the above poster who suggested that many town centres would be improved by knocking down the empty shops. I suspect these same towns have a shortage of housing so that's a good alternative use for the land.
CoupeKid said:
Whoever said that shops need to open later has got it spot on. High Street and Shopping Centre opening hours haven't changed in response to changes in society since the 70s when women stopped being housewives and started going to work in greater numbers.
Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 fking years to get used to eCommerce.
In Singapore- many shops don’t open until 1030-11 am for this reason Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 f
king years to get used to eCommerce.CoupeKid said:
Whoever said that shops need to open later has got it spot on. High Street and Shopping Centre opening hours haven't changed in response to changes in society since the 70s when women stopped being housewives and started going to work in greater numbers.
Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 fking years to get used to eCommerce.
They may as well not bother opening til 3pm on weekdays. Before then the old dears are in the tea rooms, everyone else is picking up food, and virtually all the shops are devoid of life other than one very bored employee sitting on their phone behind the till.Seriously - what sort of reprobate will be buying anything except coffee at 9am on a weekday morning?
"Hi Boss, I'll be late in. I've puked on my shoes, shat my pants and slept in a hedge, Yeah, it was a fantastic night. Thank God Next opens at 9am on a Tuesday". Said nobody. Ever.
I hope it's not too much of a generalisation to say that most people will be working Monday to Friday from about 9am, give or take half an hour, to 5:30, give or take a bit. Which is when most shops are open. Except supermarkets and DIY barns. Which only leaves the weekends for shopping when some of us have got better things to do.
Most of their customers during the day will be retired, with small kids or unemployed. There's no point opening until at least half an hour after the Jeremy Kyle Show has finished so why don't they open later and close later?
And I won't accept Internet shopping as an excuse for poor performance either. I've been shopping on Amazon since 1999 so retailers have had at least 20 f
king years to get used to eCommerce.By the time I've reached a stage I might consider going shopping i.e. after I've got home from work, had time to chill and have some dinner, everywhere except the food places are closed. If I need something it's always either the 24hr Tesco or next day delivery via Amazon Prime.
So said:
Personally I think we should see a review of Sunday trading laws too. Some people are busy six days a week and Sunday is the only day they have to shop.
The argument against this has been that retail employees have the right to a day/time off. The counter argument is they should have the right to work the hours and earn more money (than they can at present). These people would then pay more income tax and NI and, invetiably, VAT. Shoppers would have thought convenience of being able to view all 7 days of the week as ordinary shopping ones.In these times I don't really get why society is told by the government when it can and cannot visit a shop.
I think longer/more flexible weekday opening hours and a total closure of retail stores including food one day per week would be a way to go.
Why shouldn't everyone who works in retail get one day a week where they can socialise with their friends/family who work elsewhere? The consumerist way we seem to be living is clearly struggling. Do we need so many places selling the same things we don't need? What seems to be missing now are the things you need occasionally.
Why shouldn't everyone who works in retail get one day a week where they can socialise with their friends/family who work elsewhere? The consumerist way we seem to be living is clearly struggling. Do we need so many places selling the same things we don't need? What seems to be missing now are the things you need occasionally.
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