Our local shopping mall.
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
We have the same problem here. Many years ago it was called urban blight where as the middle class move further out of the city, a poorer group moves in and then the shopping mall declines. I know of one example where the mall was the biggest thing going in the 1970's. Then in the 1980's new stores opened a few miles further out. Now there are stores a few miles from that, and the original area is ready to be torn down. The middle area has been mostly torn down. :(
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
Whenever you see this, it's because the rent charged is too high for the revenue that can be generated from that site. Part of that is because revenue has dropped, both because people buy things online or in out-of-town shopping centres and because people have less money since credit became harder to get in 2007. But another big part is that the owners refuse to lower the rents to make it viable to run a business there in these lower spending times. Just like house prices, which remain stubbornly high because no-one wants to realise a loss, rental prices (both domestic and industrial) remain high because no landowning company wants to undershoot its forecast. That's despite the fact that leaving property standing empty is a much larger loss than charging 10% less in rent so it's practical to run a business there. (I suspect the fly-by-night operations get around this by paying a deposit, never paying the rent and declaring bankruptcy when the owner finally gets pissed off enough to send the legal boys round.)
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I think the main reason is the expansion of Tesco's cheap goods and free parking. Compared to the Town Centre where I assume you have to pay for parking at extortionate rates.
Parking plays a large part I think. It is getting ever more expensive in Lichfield to park and there are many, many empty shops or short term leases. In Walsall paring is free for an hour (I think) and free in December, and they seem to be doing far, far better although it is a much, much nastier place to be. The other part is the purchasing power of large chains or the supermarkets with a diverse product range who can discount some goods to get people in.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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Parking plays a large part I think. It is getting ever more expensive in Lichfield to park and there are many, many empty shops or short term leases. In Walsall paring is free for an hour (I think) and free in December, and they seem to be doing far, far better although it is a much, much nastier place to be. The other part is the purchasing power of large chains or the supermarkets with a diverse product range who can discount some goods to get people in.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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ChrisElston wrote:
In Walsall paring is free for an hour
It takes a brave man to park in Walsall. :)
One of these days I'm going to think of a really clever signature.
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ChrisElston wrote:
In Walsall paring is free for an hour
It takes a brave man to park in Walsall. :)
One of these days I'm going to think of a really clever signature.
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What he actually said was 'paring' which is quite apt as I reckon the chances of getting stabbed are quite high.
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It does indeed. The place is thriving compared to many around here though.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
There are two Sainsburys in Luton, one in Bury Park, a run down, immigrant, rat-infested slum area, the other in Bramingham Park, a middle-class, well appointed, almost semi rural area. I work near the former and live near the latter, and subsequently get to use both. I prefer the one near my home for it has more choice, better products and an air of affluence and hope. On the occasions I need to use the other one I at least take succour in the smug air of superiority I am infused with as I pace the floor, looking at the undernourished, drug-addled and poverty-stricken denizens who can actually afford to use it and not the Lidl next door. Has anyone ever shopped in a Lidl, an Aldi or an Iceland? Depressing places with muggers lurking round every aisle. I used a Lidl in Aberdeen once (it was the only supermarket nearby (I was staying in Bucksburn)) and I was appalled at the squalor. And why does everyone who shops there have to dress in leggings if they are a fat woman, or wear a baseball hat if they are a young man, or not possess a razor at all? Oh god I am such a snob!
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
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There are two Sainsburys in Luton, one in Bury Park, a run down, immigrant, rat-infested slum area, the other in Bramingham Park, a middle-class, well appointed, almost semi rural area. I work near the former and live near the latter, and subsequently get to use both. I prefer the one near my home for it has more choice, better products and an air of affluence and hope. On the occasions I need to use the other one I at least take succour in the smug air of superiority I am infused with as I pace the floor, looking at the undernourished, drug-addled and poverty-stricken denizens who can actually afford to use it and not the Lidl next door. Has anyone ever shopped in a Lidl, an Aldi or an Iceland? Depressing places with muggers lurking round every aisle. I used a Lidl in Aberdeen once (it was the only supermarket nearby (I was staying in Bucksburn)) and I was appalled at the squalor. And why does everyone who shops there have to dress in leggings if they are a fat woman, or wear a baseball hat if they are a young man, or not possess a razor at all? Oh god I am such a snob!
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
I took my son to the Asda in Parkhead (east end of Glasgow) and just burst out laughing when we went down the freezer aisle. He asked why I was laughing and I just said "You can tell we're in the east end - 5 chest freezers with 'chips' signs on them and 1 with vegetables!". Unfortunately I didn't notice the young athlete behind me in her tracksuit, white trainers and large hooped earrings who shot me a look that could kill and then loaded her trolley up with 4 bags of own-brand oven-chips. Andy B
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It's a few years since I was last there, but it was certainly thriving then. And (seriously), for the record, I did meet some very nice people there.
One of these days I'm going to think of a really clever signature.
Richard MacCutchan wrote:
And (seriously), for the record, I did meet some very nice people there.
I'm sure they must have driven here to meet you.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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There are two Sainsburys in Luton, one in Bury Park, a run down, immigrant, rat-infested slum area, the other in Bramingham Park, a middle-class, well appointed, almost semi rural area. I work near the former and live near the latter, and subsequently get to use both. I prefer the one near my home for it has more choice, better products and an air of affluence and hope. On the occasions I need to use the other one I at least take succour in the smug air of superiority I am infused with as I pace the floor, looking at the undernourished, drug-addled and poverty-stricken denizens who can actually afford to use it and not the Lidl next door. Has anyone ever shopped in a Lidl, an Aldi or an Iceland? Depressing places with muggers lurking round every aisle. I used a Lidl in Aberdeen once (it was the only supermarket nearby (I was staying in Bucksburn)) and I was appalled at the squalor. And why does everyone who shops there have to dress in leggings if they are a fat woman, or wear a baseball hat if they are a young man, or not possess a razor at all? Oh god I am such a snob!
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
The nicest shop I have ever been in was Waitrose in Wolverhampton. It is huge, the biggest I have seen, but being in Wolverhampton it was almost empty. I only popped in for a piss but spent a good half an hour just wondering around the air conditioned calmness. It was almost serene.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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There are two Sainsburys in Luton, one in Bury Park, a run down, immigrant, rat-infested slum area, the other in Bramingham Park, a middle-class, well appointed, almost semi rural area. I work near the former and live near the latter, and subsequently get to use both. I prefer the one near my home for it has more choice, better products and an air of affluence and hope. On the occasions I need to use the other one I at least take succour in the smug air of superiority I am infused with as I pace the floor, looking at the undernourished, drug-addled and poverty-stricken denizens who can actually afford to use it and not the Lidl next door. Has anyone ever shopped in a Lidl, an Aldi or an Iceland? Depressing places with muggers lurking round every aisle. I used a Lidl in Aberdeen once (it was the only supermarket nearby (I was staying in Bucksburn)) and I was appalled at the squalor. And why does everyone who shops there have to dress in leggings if they are a fat woman, or wear a baseball hat if they are a young man, or not possess a razor at all? Oh god I am such a snob!
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
Lidl but once. On the way home through East Grinstead and it was the only one that was close to the main road. It was, er, a cultural experience shall we say. Never mind muggers in the aisles I swear the night breed with malevolence piercing you through drug-crazed yellow eyes were in the freezers. It was bloody awful. Just a few miles away compare that to Waitrose in Horley where it's many cuts above the rest. Fantastic quality food, staff who take pride in their appearance and a mostly well-dressed public who'd grace the dog-and-gun adverts in Country Life magazine. If Waitrose sell the Labradors then Lidl sell what the Labrador's arse deposit.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
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One of my favourite movies. I still get a lot of pleasure and hearty laughs watching its over-the-top car chase scenes.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).
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I might be wrong but aren't chavs and chavettes a New Town creation? I suppose you get them all over the place and even Burberry were aware that their prestigious brand was adopted and to an extent hijacked by the chav community. There's a somewhat crude but funny website (chavtowns.co.uk) dedicated to chavs and the local experiences about them and the places they visit and what they get up to.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).
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One of my favourite movies. I still get a lot of pleasure and hearty laughs watching its over-the-top car chase scenes.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any." - Me (2012).
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Chavtown (Crawley) has a shopping mall and during the last two or three years a number of shops in it have closed down or moved to lower rental units. The shops that closed looked grim from the outside with piles of uncollected mail, stacks of removed shelving and broken display cabinets, that sort of thing. The managing agents of the mall tried to cover the frontage with display posters but for Debenhams, the major retail tenant, it must have negated their brand image to some extent. There were many shops involved in the closures. Roughly one third of a side (ground and upper levels) have closed. It looked really horrible. Now, the managing agents have cleaned it up. They've spent a lot of money putting plasterboard over the entire frontage of all the shops that they can't rent out. It's professionally done and if I could get a plasterer to redo my house as well as they've done there I'd be very happy. It's all been top-coated in white paint and whether they'll dress it up decoratively remains to be seen. The impression I'm forming is that they're trying to eradicate any evidence of the trading decay that set in. Dressing it to look like a wall that's always been there will make it look nicer (which it has) but as I walk around the mall I see other smaller units closing down or reopening with other blink and you'll miss it, here today, gone tomorrow shops. I worked in Farnborough for three months and the local paper carried the sad story that of some 68+ retail units in the main shopping hub, some 35 or so had closed down and that was in early 1998 not long after we moved over from Joburg. I don't know if you can blame internet trading for the decline as clearly, places like Oxford Street buck the trend. Then again, who'd want to go to Farnborough except for people who live local and then again who'd want to visit Crawley either? Whatever the reason, it's kind of sad to see major shopping areas going down the toilet. A couple of kilometres away the County Oak (not a bloody tree in sight) retail park seems to be thriving. I know trading conditions are difficult and in some stores they have 160+ applicants for every job on the shop floor. I'm not sure what the point of all of this is but now that I'm spending time at home and I walk into the mall for a coffee most afternoons I'm starting to see things now that normally I'd never notice.
"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot." — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68). "I don't need to shoot my enemies, I don't have any
When there was only one store and people had very limited options for travel then that single store lasted for years. When there are multiple stores and even different ways to shop and various ways to travel then people use more criteria for deciding how and where to spend their time. Some of that is based on entertainment and new can be entertaining. Additionally when there was only one store then if it wasn't well run then it didn't matter because there was no choice. But with more options small problems can result in larger losses over time.