What does your high street look like?

longtimelurker_2

Torquay - utterly empty, Dixons went ages ago and never got replaced, Woolworths was the other biggie and has left a gaping hole. Marks & Spencer went long ago, then came a small simply food which has gone. A bunch of weigh&saves and the like set up shop a few years ago and even they're going now... The place is mainly low-quality bakeries and charity shops. It's a ghost town, rattling with undesirables. I don't even want to have to go down there for anything it's so depressing.

Bath - seemingly unchanged, plenty of money still sloshing around at the moment. Fish Works has just gone in to administration but that's all I've seen so far. I have my doubts about the new development, but it's probably going to be finished just in time for the economy picking up. Lots of tourists still about (always!!) so that should keep things ticking-over. Hope they keep coming and keep the shops open, it'd look much less lovely with closed shops.

Exeter - depressing signs of new shops in the new retail development disappearing. Went into one and there was a huge sign saying that the staff wouldn't tolerate any kind of abuse. I asked about it and apparently people had been threatening to staff because they didn't know where they'd get their teabags anymore after the shop closed!? Soulless city now, all shops advertising 75% off but nothing to be had. Rip-off city considering the relatively low wages of the area.

Totnes - barely hurt by Woolworths going. Market still going strong. Over-priced tat shops will likely struggle but it's always been a pricey town considering the market it serves.

Bristol - Many shops closing, but more scary was the lack of people shopping particularly on the Saturday before Christmas. Cribb's Causeway was looking OK - free parking is going to drag some people there rather than Cabot Circus.

Stroud - Looked to be ticking along, but most shops were of the pound-saver/stretched/Wilko variety so will probably be OK yet.

All in all, it's a bleak time.

[Deleted User]

Muswell Hill seems busy as usual. Long queues in M&S, cafes still busy...but I heard that my son's old private nursery has many places available, which would not have happened years ago!

Mr_Falling_Star

I was in Rotherham town centre yesterday and, apart from Woolies closed, it was the same as it ever was.

Pobby

It appears that Torquay is the UK capital of bankruptcies.

Toto

Our town centre has to be one of the worst in the UK. It's a shame because we are such a historic town but honestly I've never seen a worse high street. We have an asda, a few banks, junk shops, a greasy spoon and a very dodgy nightclub. There used to be a tiny woolies years ago (this is now Asda) but not one single big high street name. I live in the old town which has nothing other than a pizza place, a beauty salon a spar and couple of chinese take aways.

StevieJ

The pubs and bars were packed last night, must have been pay day

LillyJ

Pound wrote: »

I went to Birmingham City Centre today. I haven't been for a while and noticed quite a few shops advertising closing down sales or had closed completly, including one that apparently had its last day yesterday but still had its doors open this morning.

I think I saw about maybe four or five shops in total. The amount of shops having a sale seems to be a lot higher as well.

I went into Brum yesterday. Queued for ages for a parking space. Then queued ages for a Starbucks. Then had to elbow about 7 other women out of the way to buy something at the YSL make up counter in Selfridges. Then had to fight my way through people eating in the food hall of Selfridges. Then had to queue to get out of the car park, then stopped off at Marks and Sparks food shop in Harborne and had to queue there too!
It was absolutely rammed, and not many sales left on either. The only thing I noticed was Whitard's closing down.

There are always those shops up on the High Street and Corporation St which say they are closing down - but they're the same shops that were closing down when I moved up here 7 years ago

I did notice though that there were massive queues for the cash points; maybe people are taking to using cash rather than card?

PasturesNew

They're still building the shopping centre/s in Cardiff. The main/central shopping area is HUGE (if you fancy it, hop on the train and when you get off, go forward about 200 yards then you want to be about 2 streets to the right)

It's massive, a huge pedestrianised street, some entrances off that lead into large inter-connecting indoor shopping malls, some of them are stand alone shopping malls. The whole area is surrounded by old-fashioned, individual retailers, a traditional old market and lots of those tiny covered passageways with small individual retailers.

At the moment they have to keep going .. have to keep believing it'll be all OK when it's built.

You can shop without particularly noticing the development though. Every shop you can imagine. Even 2 or more of popular ones.

I get over-whelmed (and lost in the largeness) when I set out to see what's there. It's a full day's exploration. But I am not a shopper and there's only so much window shopping you can do before catching the bus home clutching one small bag (something you felt obliged to buy as you'd gone to all the trouble of going out).

[Deleted User]

longhotbath wrote: »

Is the Disney store in Crawley really closing - my daughter is gutted!

cheers

Sadly so, but fear not the nearest one will be in Brighton.

Crawley is looking sadder by the day

movingforward2010

tbh its as busy as it was 12- 18months ago, while there is still an available balance on the credit cards people will carry on spending