Should be rocking - instead, nothingThe bulk of the day was spent in town and it brought some things home with a vengeance.
The area is well planned. We have Asda, Tesco, Aldi and carparking space for anyone. The arcade is sane, with shops people would actually want to buy from and the sprinkling of coffee concessions are enough. Asda has a nice caf too.
On the other side of the complex are the high street banks, solicitors, estate agents and so on. And don't forget the market and other supermarkets. Truly, anything you need is in here and not at an exorbitant price. It's not spread out but contained within a walkable distance. It really feels nice in there during the day.
So it all looks roses, yes?
Well, on paper, maybe. What is not immediately apparent though is that the council, in wanting to become local letting agents and landlords, have shrunk the market area and dictate what can and can't be sold, have exorbitant pay and display parking fees and avid parking officers who jump at writing tickets to slug the motorist crazy enough to venture into the shopping area.
My mate said that the market area used to be far bigger but the council couldn't control that completely so all market stalls were brought within a purpose built barn area, complete with those metal roller garage doors which come clattering down at 6 p.m. on the dot and open again at 9 the next morning. The area is dead between those hours.
No one wants to park there during the day, especially with a shopping park not so far away with free parking, no one wants to have the doors closed on them late afternoon and there is nothing but Asda to take you into the centre of town in the evening. Asda apparently begged the council not to charge for parking but the council weren't interested - there were pound signs in the eyes.
I wandered through the market last Friday, the day when they get their greatest number of people and the main stalls at the front with the food concessions etc. were lightly visited but the stalls further towards the back, which cost £30 a day - they were totally empty. Not a sausage. Apparently the by-laws and fees have surgically incised any desire on any potential vendor's part to sell what you're told you may in that place.
It's estimated that it is not the economic crisis, it is council action and Gordo's laws which have resulted in only about 60% of the projected numbers visiting the centre of town, the council therefore making a substantial loss and having made it, refusing to change its policy, believing that better times are round the corner.
Russia
I'm hesitant to put the Russkies up as a positive comparison, as much of what they touch turns to ashes but compare the two approaches in this.
In our town in Russia, Moscow money came in and wanted to set up a complex, a shopping village. All right, they built an Imax, various other things and then the main shopping centre on two stories, very modest. So, late evening, being a bit bored with tele at home, you could, for example, take your car down there, park for free and approach this broad brass and glass entrance way.
Immediately inside, on the left, is a giant DVD, CD and video lending and buying shop. On the right is a Japanese sushi bar which has international cuisine, graded from an excusive part to the cafe type part. Further along the ceramic tiled foyer are the fast food concessions, including pizza, tables and chairs, a two cinema area with the latest releases, ten pin bowling, a bar, a coffee shop and a late night supermarket. Up the stairs are the boutiques and flea markets.
The place is warm and welcoming and not only that, it has the main hockey stadium and skating rink nearby and is served by a four laned road bridge from the other side of town. The place rocks.
Now I come back to our town over here. For what, apart from taking the car to the chippy and back, would anyone want to go down there at night for? For what would you want to stroll about with your better half? Where are the shop windows to look in, with their inventive displays? Where are the early evening kids amusement places?
Where's the ambience? There's about as much ambience as a caravan park or an airport.
And why is this so? Because the people in charge, who make the rules about who can be where and what they can sell are local government, not businessmen, not entrepeneurs. Why, oh why, are these people in charge?
I can't think of any reason to go into my local town at night, especially with gangs of youths hanging round.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much to commend it during the day either. Rents are too high, so there are more charity shops than anything else. There is the market, but I am not sure that has the pull it used to have. The main attraction for me is the two butchers shops, both sell top notch meat and home made sausages. The only other attraction is the railway station. So with a 20 minute walk... it is often more tempting to hop in the car and go somewhere more appealling!
I fear most of our councils are now centrally run anyway.You'll notice if you take a look at there websites that they seem to have been updated recently and have very similar themes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cherrypie, and now we in Wantage are losing shops and pubs, even estate agents are shutting, not much joy here. Our market is nearly not existant, apparently it used to be quite good.
ReplyDeleteWantage itself doesn't even have one independant butcher left, apparently there used to be a few!
Thank you for visiting my blog, love the message!
The High Street is on the endangered species list which should be fought tooth and nail, as it is one thing distinctly British.
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired my next post. :)
I'm being asked a lot now about the downturn now that its moved from the finance sector into the wider economy. The truth is many businesses that are failing now have been dead men walking for years for a plethora of reasons and only excessive liquidity in the economy papered over the cracks.
ReplyDeleteIn the '80s when I still lived at home I used to frequent a local Italian café. It was fantastic and years ahead of its time but the owner was driven to close after the council raised rates to unsustainable levels. Soon the high-street was only populated with chain stores. As the early '90s recession arrived many of these closed and never re-opened but everyone laid blame on the recession and central government.
The current crisis has become a convenient excuse for many ills and bad business practise and its way past time many people faced some fundamental realities. The UK high-street is only a microcosm of that malaise.
It's almost like the greed outweighs any sort of civic pride. Why can't they understand that if they put the rates at attractive levels, the centre of town would become attractive and bustling too, that in turn reducing the crime levels as the council could then run their own security in the malls?
ReplyDeletePerhaps they do see it and just shrug and say, 'It's the economy so let's get what we can, while we can."
The photo is beautiful until you mentioned how empty is is and then yes it is a bit eerie.
ReplyDeleteI guess you're not asking for superficial answers.
ReplyDeleteThe true answer goes much deeper, and is also the answer to the immediate preceding piece you wrote, on litter, etc.
It is the current thrust of the nation to destroy itself, the standards that were once held, the education/intellectual levels, the philosophic identities, the family, the "knowing".
This is deliberate at all levels and markedly so since the election of nulab. Its deliberate prey are the easily influenced young, - ergo it is very active in the education systems.
It is happening internationally and is orchestrated and funded by the same culprits as before.
You keep showing the symptoms, and I believe you know the answers, so thank you for trying to raise awareness.
Regrettably, judging by the answers written here, you seem to be failing.
This conscious movement is now so far advanced that I do not believe it can be turned.
Be aware of it in your personal life, and seek to nullify its effect on any of your loved ones. Seek to preserve what it seeks to destroy, and inform those that are receptive. As the movement gains power in the future, don't make waves.