Bring back high street shops

[Davyo]

When I was a lad every village had high street shops.Bakers,iron mongers,news agents,fish & fruit and veg.

I've just been to ASDA this morning and had to visit 3 different shops.I thought the whole point of 'supermarkets' ment that you could get everything under one roof.Nothing has a date on it that will keep more than 4 days.The fruit and veg looks like it's been kicked all over the store.Had to go to M&S for the fruit & veg,Boots for my wife's lady things and ASDA are trying to force their own brand.

Now I've tried the Aldi/lidl,and we just ended up throwing 75% of it out.The meat in in Aldi looked like you'd catch Salmonella just looking at it.

Will we every see a return to the old English high street.

Sorry rant over.

[Scully]

My little market town is thriving.

There was a time when you wouldn't have to leave it to purchase anything, and in the 70's when the bypass was built it died a bit of a death for more than a decade.

There is more and more house building going on than ever, and though there is no major employer anymore ( dairy closed, bespoke fitted furniture gone west, and one of the two banks has closed ( other is now down to three days ) we still have two butchers, a post office, a building society, solicitors, a large coop and spar, loads of pubs and hotels, a thriving Indian and Chinese plus Chippy, pizza parlour and steak bar ( could do with a good Italian ) agricultural supplier where if you can't buy it they don't make it, a couple of galleries and quite a few coffee shops.

A proper little bustling market town.....until winter sets in! 🙂

[fern01]

Only the big retail chains, coffee shops, estate agents, takeaways and charity shops are left. High rates and more expensive and less available parking have seen off most of the small shops.

[Pushkin]

I think local business rates has a lot to do with the lack of diversity of shops. It is just too expensive for owners to run a business and charge a fair price for a decent product and still make a profit - or the profit margin they are taking is too high and cannot be sustained in the area. Supermarkets spend millions just trying to get you in the door because once there you will buy more than you really need..

 

Not easy.

 

Pushkin

[Hamster]

Capitalism - where the landscape and society itself are pummelled into profit friendly shape.

[figgy]

The big supermarkets have shelved plans for expansion as people are not interested. Middlesbrough has a huge unopened super market off the A66 near the football ground that's stood empty.

I like Lidl and Aldi for certain things like Aldo's fruit and veg is usually locally sourced and licks fresh baked bread is nice and so are there wines, also the weekly deals on fishing kit camping car stuff etc. The village I live in is becoming more popular and in the high street the butchers is famed for its pies and we have fruit and veg shop nice bakery and plenty of pubs and eateries. I like the local shops so does my wife, you get stuff only they make or stock not what keeps best or is greatest profit like the supermarkets. We have a co op a local sainsbury and s huge Tesco close.

 

Davyo try chapmans in Blackhall a very nice butchers they have bakers and fruit veg shops still in the Main Street.

[ferguson_tom]

The reason the high street is dying is for one simple reason, they are open when most of us are at work. Its very simple, me and my wife both work as do the majority of people in Britain and i have no other choice but to go to the supermarket as its the only shop that is open after 5 oclock when i finish. The old british high street relied on women (mainly) being stay at home housewives who would go shopping during the day why the man was at work, which of course is no longer the case.

 

Its not rocket science, they just have to move with the times. In France, Spain and Italy towns all seem to manage without the massive supermarkets and thats because the small shops are all open in the evenings.

Edited July 12, 2017 by ferguson_tom

[Mice!]

The reason the high street is dying is for one simple reason, they are open when most of us are at work. Its very simple, me and my wife both work as do the majority of people in Britain and i have no other choice but to go to the supermarket as its the only shop that is open after 5 oclock when i finish. The old british high street relied on women (mainly) being stay at home housewives who would go shopping during the day why the man was at work, which of course is no longer the case.

 

Its not rocket science, they just have to move with the times. In France, Spain and Italy towns all seem to manage without the massive supermarkets and thats because the small shops are all open in the evenings.

That's a good point, never really thought along those lines as I always work shifts. I quite often wander round our local high street but never really buy anything much, go in on market days and pretty much the same.

[winnie&bezza]

My little market town is thriving.

There was a time when you wouldn't have to leave it to purchase anything, and in the 70's when the bypass was built it died a bit of a death for more than a decade.

There is more and more house building going on than ever, and though there is no major employer anymore ( dairy closed, bespoke fitted furniture gone west, and one of the two banks has closed ( other is now down to three days ) we still have two butchers, a post office, a building society, solicitors, a large coop and spar, loads of pubs and hotels, a thriving Indian and Chinese plus Chippy, pizza parlour and steak bar ( could do with a good Italian ) agricultural supplier where if you can't buy it they don't make it, a couple of galleries and quite a few coffee shops.

A proper little bustling market town.....until winter sets in! 🙂

Sounds lovely! Two butchers, that's rare.

[matone]

The reason the high street is dying is for one simple reason, they are open when most of us are at work. Its very simple, me and my wife both work as do the majority of people in Britain and i have no other choice but to go to the supermarket as its the only shop that is open after 5 oclock when i finish. The old british high street relied on women (mainly) being stay at home housewives who would go shopping during the day why the man was at work, which of course is no longer the case.

 

Its not rocket science, they just have to move with the times. In France, Spain and Italy towns all seem to manage without the massive supermarkets and thats because the small shops are all open in the evenings.

And you would have thought the dullest of brains could comprehend that ! Spot on F T.

Had a general dealers at the end of the road who shut at 5pm prompt ! Eventually closed due to lack of trade..............

[ph5172]

Our town is great... if you want to buy a house, visit a charity shop, buy or sell a phone, get a haircut or get a sandwich from a chain.

 

All the big stores have moved out to the retail parks - M&S closed after being in the same premises since 1930, CO-OP Supermarket (a proper big one) had been there since 1940, the suit shop next door had been there since 1899, Topshop gone, Burtons gone, even Argos (who have moved stores around the center) are just moving out, all onto the new just out of town parks. I dont think there are any 'chain' shops left and even McDonnalds (one of the biggest outside London) is on limited hours closing at 8pm on a weekday

 

To help the Council have decided they need to increase the parking fees and raising the minimum of an hour from 50p to £1, and to charge on Sunday

They have moved the Market from its own plot to the centre inbetween (the now closed) shops

 

Startups usually go belly up in the first year

 

From what is being said the rates make it financially unviable to stay in town along with the lack of footfall, one of the local traders said the retail park pulls in more punters per day than the town does all week.

 

The market can't be beaten for its fruit and veg and keen prices, but it starts at 9am and is torn down at 4pm 3 days a week

Edited July 12, 2017 by ph5172

[four-wheel-drive]

The fact is most people buy there food veg and meat and a hole lot more from the local super store as it is cheaper and quicker you can even order on line and have it delivered the same goes for electrical goods we do our banking on the internet we even drink at home so banks and pubs are shutting down.

 

I for one rarely bother to go into town in fact only for banking to get cash out or put it in the rest I do over the internet doctors dentist and vets most other things that I need I order on the internet I used to love the old shops you could go in and ask questions about what was the best thing to get for this or that and but most of them have gone long ago.

[gustaff]

i never buy meat from super markets just use local butchers in nearby villages fresh fruit and veg i get from a suplier to local hotels and shops who i shoot with fish fom local fishermen and fish mongers rest of tinned packed stuff wife gets from the supermarkets reluctentley

[four-wheel-drive]

The problem with local shops ie butchers we pride our self on having high animal standards so we have made laws stating that our animals must be treated properly but that makes it more expensive so what do people do buy the cheapest meat that they can buy cheap imported stuff not our well cared for stuff I am afraid that we are for the most part two faced we say that we want one thing yet buy another.

 

I used to use the local butcher years ago untill it went down hill I now mostly get my meat when I do my weekly shop at Sainsburys having said that I do not eat much meat no pork or beef I just get a large free range chicken or leg of lamb both of which I now has had a good life before ending up in the pot.

Edited July 12, 2017 by four-wheel-drive

[clakk]

We are very lucky here ,2 big fruit and veg shops and a butchers ,with superior food to the stupermarkets .Just up or down the road 4 miles each way the next towns have independant butchers ,one brings the animals from his farm to his own slaughterhouse and both have markets with good fruit and veg sellers .

Asda quality isnt ,Morrisons make cardboard sausage and cut bacon that thin it makes great windows and Tesco, how the heck did they get number 1 ,so called deals expensive doesnt cover it .So glad we live in smallville where quality and service still ,matter

[bruno22rf]

Cannot but wonder where the Super Markets get their meat from....with a limited amount of Abattoir's are we suggesting that these little village Butchers have their own hidden away? We have a Butcher in our Town - meat is about the same as our local Tesco but 3 times the price - had a really poor Beef joint from him and ended up having a massive row with the owner, any problems with Tesco then it's a refund no questions.

[zipdog]

One the other hand, Whilst i like supporting local the tesco deli has nice scotched eggs for 50p. The other day I though i would support the local butchers next door. Bought a scotched egg for £1.10 and it was horrible. I won’t be revisiting, not on a matter of price but a matter of quality of their product.

Edited July 12, 2017 by zipdog

[fortune]

Local councils kill small business by extortionate business rates and parking. It's just too expensive to operate. 40 years ago my village had two garages, two pubs, three grocer type shops, a bakers, a shoe repair, a leather worker, a cycle repairer, a car body shop repairer and s/h car sales and a builder. Now they have all gone except for a garage that does MOT's but no petrol sales. The local small towns have had the high Street shops decimated to a few charity shops. There it is the traffic wardens that have crippled trade along with business rates ect. Also people have mobility now to get to the supermarket. Yesterday we traveled to Costco and came back with a carload and filled the car up at the same time. Small village shops are dinosaurs. They're gone and won't be making a return selling a limited range of products at expensive prices no matter how cottagy they were.

Edited July 13, 2017 by fortune

[Hamster]

I don't believe the mere fact that supermarkets open till 8 is why we have lost small shops, visit any supermarket on a Monday morning or any mid day and they'll be packed, the reason being that thousands of older people don't work, thousands of stay at home mums/dads don't work and hundreds of thousands of us have days off during the week anyway.

 

True if you give people the choice some will want to buy a car on Boxing Day , I have people ask : are you open Sundays yes of course we are, because we don't have anything to do on a Sunday but wait for you to come and kick some tyres. I mean bear in mind the little gem that he's asking that question on a TUESDAY, makes me want to say I hadn't realised they'd banned buying cars on Tuesdays. Oh it's just that I want my wife/father in law/son/neighbour/butcher/dentist to have a look at it first well says I, how's about you take it for a spin and drive home and show it them...................NOW or another time during the WEEK.

 

Sorry but if you want to eat meat then either buy it on Saturday morning or nip in during your lunch break or make plans for someone else to get it when it's convenient. The shops are gone because supermarkets promised lower prices, destroyed our infrastructure and towns (which had served us perfectly well for centuries) and then when everything was gone they put everything up at ludicrous mark ups to make sure they can show £700 million quid profits every quarter.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, in 1954 i could take a penny in my grubby hands into a traditional west sussex painted yellow sweet shop in Midhurst and buy a bag of sweets

Edited July 13, 2017 by oldypigeonpopper

[oldypigeonpopper]

My little market town is thriving.

There was a time when you wouldn't have to leave it to purchase anything, and in the 70's when the bypass was built it died a bit of a death for more than a decade.

There is more and more house building going on than ever, and though there is no major employer anymore ( dairy closed, bespoke fitted furniture gone west, and one of the two banks has closed ( other is now down to three days ) we still have two butchers, a post office, a building society, solicitors, a large coop and spar, loads of pubs and hotels, a thriving Indian and Chinese plus Chippy, pizza parlour and steak bar ( could do with a good Italian ) agricultural supplier where if you can't buy it they don't make it, a couple of galleries and quite a few coffee shops.

A proper little bustling market town.....until winter sets in!

hello, sounds a nice place scully

[four-wheel-drive]

Cannot but wonder where the Super Markets get their meat from....with a limited amount of Abattoir's are we suggesting that these little village Butchers have their own hidden away? We have a Butcher in our Town - meat is about the same as our local Tesco but 3 times the price - had a really poor Beef joint from him and ended up having a massive row with the owner, any problems with Tesco then it's a refund no questions.

With meat years ago you had the local abattoir so we got fresh local meat but with all of the new rules they seem to have got bigger and bigger until it ends up being a meat processing factory.

Meat comes in from all over the world who knows what it is or how the animals have been treated or killed that is why I never buy mincemeat or sausages having said that when I was young a relative had a small butchers shop and made his own sausages that was mostly breadcrumbs mind you that was in the 50/60s when meat was much more expensive.

[ferguson_tom]

I don't believe the mere fact that supermarkets open till 8 is why we have lost small shops, visit any supermarket on a Monday morning or any mid day and they'll be packed, the reason being that thousands of older people don't work, thousands of stay at home mums/dads don't work and hundreds of thousands of us have days off during the week anyway.

 

Sorry but if you want to eat meat then either buy it on Saturday morning or nip in during your lunch break or make plans for someone else to get it when it's convenient. The shops are gone because supermarkets promised lower prices, destroyed our infrastructure and towns (which had served us perfectly well for centuries) and then when everything was gone they put everything up at ludicrous mark ups to make sure they can show £700 million quid profits every quarter.

 

So small shops are still closing their doors to the vast majority of the working population who are their most likely customers who have the expendable income and willing to pay a little bit extra for quality (workers in general not just the 9-5 group) And your suggestions of getting someone else to pick up or go during your lunch hour just adds extra hurdles, supermarkets biggest reason for success is convenience and for small shops to compete need to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to spend their money in them.

 

Sorry people can blame the supermarkets all they want the reason the high street is dying is because it hasn't moved with the times and change in culture which is the same story for the pubs. Pretty much every failed landlord blames the smoking ban for pubs closing....nothing more than a poor excuse imo for a landlord that didn't see the cultural shift or sort their craphole of a rundown old boozer out. Their are plenty of pubs in every part of the country who are making an absolute fortune.

[panoma1]

I'm afraid the high street butcher cannot compete with the supermarkets on price or provenance, and usually quality! the supermarkets label all their cuts with important information like its origin, where it is sourced, when, how long matured, suggested best before date and as someone else posted, any problems such as quality issues, and there is a no quibble refund! .......from the high street butcher you select the cut you require which is usually unpackaged, on display and/or cut from a larger piece of meat, there is no information such as where it's sourced and how long (or not!) its been matured, the butcher probably buy cheap as possible in trying to compete with the economies of scale and the buying power of the supermarkets? So the quality can be very hit and miss!....and try taking it back if when cooked it's only suitable to re sole your boots!..... added to this compared to the supermarkets the meat from a butcher is eyewateringly expensive.....

[Vince Green]

Round here its parking that is the biggest problem but the internet also takes a heavy toll.

 

About two and a half miles from where I live now there used to be a big double fronted fishing tackle shop. It was a magnet to me when I was a kid, an absolute Aladdin's cave. About fifteen years ago they widened the traffic lights about 50 yards down the road, put in filter lanes and metal barriers and double yellow lines everywhere. There was nowhere for customers to park

 

Within three years the shop had gone and so had most of the other shops on that parade. Its an Indian restaurant now