What will the high street look like after the pandemic?

tommytwojags

Well-known member
With today's news that the KFC in Blackpool town centre will not reopen and the likelihood that many businesses will be going to the wall, I wonder what town centres are going to look like going forward. Blackpool was struggling even before coronavirus and Church St, which used to be the retail showpiece of the town, was just tat and charity shops.

On the positive side, I see that the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Bon Marche chain is being bought out and revived and no doubt there will be entrepreneurs and artisans looking for an opportunity to change career when the world re-starts. But when I look at St Annes town centre, all I can see is boarded up shops. There are no retail outlets I would want to invest in.
 
Massive re-think needed, there’s no doubt the high street had changed significantly before Covid, with Amazon/EBay etc, taking business and charity shops moving in.

Covid has definitely made that worse and unless some radical thinking is applied, they will become barren wastes.

Maybe convert those likely never to be occupied into housing, which has the benefit of bringing customers into the remaining shops, or demolish and create open spaces; playgrounds, picnic areas etc.
 
With today's news that the KFC in Blackpool town centre will not reopen and the likelihood that many businesses will be going to the wall, I wonder what town centres are going to look like going forward. Blackpool was struggling even before coronavirus and Church St, which used to be the retail showpiece of the town, was just tat and charity shops.

On the positive side, I see that the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Bon Marche chain is being bought out and revived and no doubt there will be entrepreneurs and artisans looking for an opportunity to change career when the world re-starts. But when I look at St Annes town centre, all I can see is boarded up shops. There are no retail outlets I would want to invest in.
The EU Development Fund used to provide the UK with £2 Billion per year especially ringfenced for helping out deprived areas. We've been assured that the UK government would cover this black hole going forward so let's see what happens to towns like Blackpool, which previously benefited from new sea defences and cleaner water, now that funding is back in the hands of Westminster.
 
The EU Development Fund used to provide the UK with £2 Billion per year especially ringfenced for helping out deprived areas. We've been assured that the UK government would cover this black hole going forward so let's see what happens to towns like Blackpool, which previously benefited from new sea defences and cleaner water, now that funding is back in the hands of Westminster.
I seem to remember that Blackpool got nothing from that fund before the seafront funding. It got very little from Westminster either. Let's see if the Northern Powerhouse (or whatever it's called this week) spending reaches the Fylde.
 
I seem to remember that Blackpool got nothing from that fund before the seafront funding. It got very little from Westminster either. Let's see if the Northern Powerhouse (or whatever it's called this week) spending reaches the Fylde.
Not true. See this - Examples

The biggest worry is that it took legal action by the EU to force the UK government to clean up Blackpool's beaches. It highlighted how little regard Westminster has for the North.
 
The EU Development Fund used to provide the UK with £2 Billion per year especially ringfenced for helping out deprived areas. We've been assured that the UK government would cover this black hole going forward so let's see what happens to towns like Blackpool, which previously benefited from new sea defences and cleaner water, now that funding is back in the hands of Westminster.
I bet Scott Benton has already prepared his big speech about it that he will get to deliver, then sit down like a proud little school boy who just got to speak in assembly.
 
It's not just Blackpool, many of the town centres around here are on their knees and were prior to Covid, although that has obviously made it even worse. Instead of shops you would use those that are still open are made up of pound shops, hairdressers, Beauty salons/nail bars, coffee shops and restaurants and takeaways, there are also Vape shops and plenty of charity shops, oh, and Estate Agents.

People need to change their habits and learn how to shop again otherwise any rejuvenation in Towns will be a waste of time. There needs to be free parking, cheap rents for shop keepers and grants to set-up for businesses such as Buthchers, Bakers, Greengrocers and artisan shops. And the locals need to use them. if this doesn't happen then the high street will become extinct. People may lose their jobs with pubs and restaurants closing but there will always be someone waiting in the wings to take over once things return to some kind of normal.

We avoid the supermarkets as much as possible and we get our fruit and veg either from our allotment or from Cambridge market, we also get fresh fish, bread and cheese from the market. We use a local village butcher for meat. It takes a bit more effort but it is worth it and it is more expensive but I want to support local businesses. The out of town shopping centres such as the Trafford Centre, Lakeside, Westfields etc., are going to die and disappear, and I have to say I won't miss them. Watch the likes of Marks & Spencer clothing and homeware disappear as well as the likes of John Lewis, the big names are struggling and they haven't got infinite finances to keep going.

Our towns need to be hubs of the community where people can get what they want and aren't being charged a fortune to park to get it. I have to say I would love to see it, but sadly I can't see it happening.
 
Town centre shopping will be basically none exsistant as we are nearly all to blame we all go and look for things then go home check the internet and order it from somewhere cheaper. That plus out of town shopping locations have done for town centers
 
I have to say that if you get the chance to get an allotment plot then do it. Thought it would be a bit of a busman's holiday for me but I love it and the veg we have had over the last 12 months has been fantastic. I will starting to grow my first lot for this year from seed in the greenhouse next week (chillis and Peppers, followed by tomatoes and then lots of different veg.

I heartily recommend it.
 
I have to say that if you get the chance to get an allotment plot then do it. Thought it would be a bit of a busman's holiday for me but I love it and the veg we have had over the last 12 months has been fantastic. I will starting to grow my first lot for this year from seed in the greenhouse next week (chillis and Peppers, followed by tomatoes and then lots of different veg.

I heartily recommend it.
I’ve got a plot in the attic thanks🤪
 
With the busy lives that people lead nowadays, habits have changed forever.
With a few taps on a screen something can be ordered and arrive next day.
I rarely used to go shopping because it was such a pain compared to online; parking, other people, not having the item in stock etc.
Online shopping eliminates every part of that.
Whilst some people still like to shop for the experience, is there really enough of their kind to keep the high street going?

Life for many will change forever off the back of this pandemic; the traditional high street and town centres, already struggling, will be something that will become a thing of the past.
 
I can't see much of a future for Fleetwood Freeport tbh and thats WITH free parking.
Was only becoming reasonably busy at weekends, prior to the 1st lockdown.
Was a good idea when it started, but sadly lost its appeal due to the internet etc.
 
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I can't see much of a future for Freeport tbh and thats WITH free parking.
Was only becoming reasonably busy at weekends, prior to the 1st lockdown.
Was a good idea when it started, but sadly lost its appeal due to the internet etc.
Was just about to mention free port or Affinity as it now known.
Went just before it shut down in the latest lock down.
Was gobsmacked how many outlets/shops were standing empty some of which I believe however were empty even before the pandemic set in.
Key for me is once Marks and Spencer move away from an area it’s a clear indication of no one is making any money. 😮
 
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So far I e noticed the following shops have collapsed since covid In town centre
1 Bella Italia
Top shop
Steals
Kfc
WH Smith closes this Friday night
Las iguanas
 
All town centres will eventually be levelled and replaced by a regional Amazon logistics hub. Around it will be an Amazon cafe, Amazon van repair and an Amazon bookies (although all this really is, is a large screen advertisement for Amazon online betting app).
Amazon will allow a couple of artisan shops stocking fresh food and coffee but they will be so expensive compared to the Amazon cafe which stock all you really need, that it will be only senior management that can afford it and Carmel from marketing (who is up to her neck in debt on her Amazon credit card).

Give in. It’s inevitable
 
All town centres will eventually be levelled and replaced by a regional Amazon logistics hub. Around it will be an Amazon cafe, Amazon van repair and an Amazon bookies (although all this really is, is a large screen advertisement for Amazon online betting app).
Amazon will allow a couple of artisan shops stocking fresh food and coffee but they will be so expensive compared to the Amazon cafe which stock all you really need, that it will be only senior management that can afford it and Carmel from marketing (who is up to her neck in debt on her Amazon credit card).

Give in. It’s inevitable
I’d rather we continued in a state of permanent lockdown 😩
 
They could do with having a smaller shopping area,demolish the rest and have some decent high rise flats (not too high) already quite s bit of PP for flats in town.
 
All town centres will eventually be levelled and replaced by a regional Amazon logistics hub. Around it will be an Amazon cafe, Amazon van repair and an Amazon bookies (although all this really is, is a large screen advertisement for Amazon online betting app).
Amazon will allow a couple of artisan shops stocking fresh food and coffee but they will be so expensive compared to the Amazon cafe which stock all you really need, that it will be only senior management that can afford it and Carmel from marketing (who is up to her neck in debt on her Amazon credit card).

Give in. It’s inevitable
Good idea,huge amazon warehouses dotted a long the prom,we could look like the M62 but have the sea views.
 
Dont worry folk, when all the other shops have gone to the wall we'll still have nail bars, charity shops and vape places.
 
Dont worry folk, when all the other shops have gone to the wall we'll still have nail bars, charity shops and vape places.
Oddly not. Vape shops are a fad waiting to sell fireworks. They will die out, npi.

Charity shops need people in.

Nail bars are set to be replaced by panel pins.

Seriously, people need a reason, or excuse to visit a TC. There won't be one for retail to survive.
 
The whole country will end up like that soulless cesspit Buckshaw, near Chorley, suburbia for the masses mortgaged to the hilt and with their shiny cars on leases. But no community, no identity and nowhere to call home.
Our town centre problems start with the extortionate rents charged by landlords on retailers, prohibitive lease terms and large parts of the town centres above the ground floor lying empty. Landlords don’t tend to favour the first and second floors being used as good quality residential space when they get the rent from the retailer instead. Hence town centres become ghost towns rather than vibrant communities in the style of continental towns.
But the problem is this. Many landlords are actually pension funds and so have been risk averse and unlikely to change their financial model.
Perhaps the change from the double whammy covid and the Internet will force a rethink when retail is annihilated.
 
The whole country will end up like that soulless cesspit Buckshaw, near Chorley, suburbia for the masses mortgaged to the hilt and with their shiny cars on leases. But no community, no identity and nowhere to call home.
Our town centre problems start with the extortionate rents charged by landlords on retailers, prohibitive lease terms and large parts of the town centres above the ground floor lying empty. Landlords don’t tend to favour the first and second floors being used as good quality residential space when they get the rent from the retailer instead. Hence town centres become ghost towns rather than vibrant communities in the style of continental towns.
But the problem is this. Many landlords are actually pension funds and so have been risk averse and unlikely to change their financial model.
Perhaps the change from the double whammy covid and the Internet will force a rethink when retail is annihilated.
Absolutely.
 
The whole country will end up like that soulless cesspit Buckshaw, near Chorley, suburbia for the masses mortgaged to the hilt and with their shiny cars on leases. But no community, no identity and nowhere to call home.
Our town centre problems start with the extortionate rents charged by landlords on retailers, prohibitive lease terms and large parts of the town centres above the ground floor lying empty. Landlords don’t tend to favour the first and second floors being used as good quality residential space when they get the rent from the retailer instead. Hence town centres become ghost towns rather than vibrant communities in the style of continental towns.
But the problem is this. Many landlords are actually pension funds and so have been risk averse and unlikely to change their financial model.
Perhaps the change from the double whammy covid and the Internet will force a rethink when retail is annihilated.
I think landlords will have to change their business model. I read recently that long-term leases will be replaced by shorter leases and retail outlets will become 'pop-up' shops that run for a shorter periods of time before changing use. So, maybe sportswear one year then travel agents the next depending on what sells at the time. That seems a reasonable idea.
 
All town centres will eventually be levelled and replaced by a regional Amazon logistics hub. Around it will be an Amazon cafe, Amazon van repair and an Amazon bookies (although all this really is, is a large screen advertisement for Amazon online betting app).
Amazon will allow a couple of artisan shops stocking fresh food and coffee but they will be so expensive compared to the Amazon cafe which stock all you really need, that it will be only senior management that can afford it and Carmel from marketing (who is up to her neck in debt on her Amazon credit card).

Give in. It’s inevitable
It's ok I avoid Amazon at all costs just need a few million more to do the same. 🙁
 
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