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Author Topic: Trivial things you don't understand/mildly annoy you  (Read 5047683 times)
horlock07

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« Reply #30540 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 08:51:36 »

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/22/arcadia-shops-set-for-closure-under-philips-greens-topshop-dorothy-perkins-rescue-plan-full-list

More big holes in the town centre then. Soon there'll be nothing left but charity shops and a branch of Costa Coffee every 5 yards

Swindon seems to be getting a bit of a kicking there although from a male POV its only Burtons going, where will you get your comfortable slacks from now  Wink

Bricks and mortar retailing is on its way out, and frankly most people cannot complain about it as its them not buying on the high street which is killing it, its like village posts offices and pubs all over again, you don't use it you lose it, simple!
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horlock07

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« Reply #30541 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 08:58:21 »

But the virtual High Street is thriving, time to let the rel one go and come up with something new, or even something old we can revert to.

Its being tried in a lot of places, to be fair to the government efforts are being made through enhanced PD to bring retail units into residential use where appropriate so possibly the population could reclaim town centres, likewise the one boom up here (apart from bloody vape shops) is small gyms taking over retail units.

Problem with many retail units is that they do not meet modern retailer standards, the big boys want a big, flat unfettered sales floor and most 60's and 70's buildings don't fit that criteria, for instance in Lancaster the BHS shut 2-3 years back and is empty still, now Lancaster has been crying out for big spaces for the bigger retailers to move into, for example recently Primarni took over the 80's covered market, gutted it, inserted an extra floor and now have a massive two storey unit occupying and doing very well, the BHS is from the 60's and has levels all over the place and no one has taken it, and I suspect won't until they drop it and build a new, which would actually be in their interest as it would increase the rental potential as the ITZA would be higher.
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pauld
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« Reply #30542 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 09:00:05 »

Swindon seems to be getting a bit of a kicking there although from a male POV its only Burtons going, where will you get your comfortable slacks from now  Wink
TBF, I wasn't that devastated personally as I don't use any of the Arcadia group shops so won't affect me directly, other than the ongoing hollowing out of the town centre. Which leads neatly on to your next point:
Bricks and mortar retailing is on its way out, and frankly most people cannot complain about it as its them not buying on the high street which is killing it, its like village posts offices and pubs all over again, you don't use it you lose it, simple!
Agree and also agree with Rob T: it's a losing battle, we should be looking to regenerate our town centres differently and reorient them away from retail to a mix of leisure, food, residential and commercial. But given the council are still trying and failing to catch up with the urban regeneration wave of 2 decades ago, I'm not optimistic they'll manage this. They should just about manage to complete the reworking of the town centre to create more retail space just in time for the final death of high street retail before they then take another couple of decades to pivot to the new reality. And while we await this reconfiguration, the town centre's going to get worse and worse, not to mention more jobs getting sucked out of the local economy on top of the losses at Honda. It's not looking pretty.
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RWB Robin

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« Reply #30543 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 09:17:44 »

Along with food and entertainment, make it easier for small independent retailers to set up...whether 'artisan' food retailers, crafts, or whatever...make the place attractive and safe to come to and in due course the cycle will continue and bigger retailers will return.
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pauld
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« Reply #30544 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 09:38:51 »

Along with food and entertainment, make it easier for small independent retailers to set up...whether 'artisan' food retailers, crafts, or whatever...make the place attractive and safe to come to and in due course the cycle will continue and bigger retailers will return.
Good example is the food court in that "Crossing" bridge between the two sections of the Brunel, some really good food options in there and while not the cheapest it's nice to have an alternative to the usual Greggs, Subway, processed reheated shit
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horlock07

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« Reply #30545 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 09:51:05 »

Along with food and entertainment, make it easier for small independent retailers to set up...whether 'artisan' food retailers, crafts, or whatever...make the place attractive and safe to come to and in due course the cycle will continue and bigger retailers will return.

How would you make it easier?
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #30546 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 09:57:16 »

Along with food and entertainment, make it easier for small independent retailers to set up...whether 'artisan' food retailers, crafts, or whatever...make the place attractive and safe to come to and in due course the cycle will continue and bigger retailers will return.

This requires a place to be middle class... Swindon isn't, it's resolutely working class/ precariat. The market dictates that a shoppiing centre caters to the needs of the bulk of its population, so in Swindon's case that's charity shops, pound shops, Mike Ashley chav emporia, vape shops, pawn shops and bookies.

The middle classes which in Swindon are small in number won't be seen dead near that lot.  
« Last Edit: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:01:22 by Reg Smeeton » Logged
pauld
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« Reply #30547 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:00:10 »

This requires a place to be middle class... Swindon isn't, it's resolutely working class/ precariat. The market dictates that a shoppiing centre caters to the needs of the bulk of its population, so in Swindon's case that's charity shops, pound shops, Mike Ashley chav emporia, vape shops, pawn shops and bookies.
That's the problem though, it's no longer viable to see town centres as shopping centres. Retail is increasingly going online, town centres need to find a different way of working - looking at them as shopping centres is a good 20 years out of date.
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #30548 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:11:48 »

That's the problem though, it's no longer viable to see town centres as shopping centres. Retail is increasingly going online, town centres need to find a different way of working - looking at them as shopping centres is a good 20 years out of date.

Shopping centre is just a term... in Swindon there is still a population that likes somewhere social to hang about, and engage in some commerce.  The problem is the perception that that population is increasingly precariat and ethnic.... Brexit  highlights the divisions in our society, and there's a big one.... for many people the Town centre is a place to avoid.
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pauld
Aaron Aardvark

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« Reply #30549 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:38:25 »

Shopping centre is just a term.
Yes, it's a term for a centre where shopping is done. Which is what everyone has been saying the town centre needs to move away from. Do keep up
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4D
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« Reply #30550 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:41:31 »


The middle classes which in Swindon are small in number won't be seen dead near that lot.  

I'm middle class and I like the town centre  Smiley
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The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey

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« Reply #30551 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:42:33 »

Old, fat blokes in speedos
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #30552 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:43:14 »

I'm middle class and I like the town centre  Smiley

TBF 4D you don't post middle class.
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4D
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« Reply #30553 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:44:53 »

But I like avocado  Huh?
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #30554 on: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 10:49:58 »

Yes, it's a term for a centre where shopping is done. Which is what everyone has been saying the town centre needs to move away from. Do keep up

Do try and understand.... there is still a place and people for "shopping", it's just not the sort of thing which a lot of people wish to partake in.  Because something is not to your taste doesn't mean it's doomed.  SBC and other authorities rather than having upmarket wet dreams about cultural quarters etc, should look at how better to use the space for it's present demographic of homeless, precariat and ethnic minorites
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