• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

Worst high streets

Crazyface said:
Shut them all I say. Outdated and expensive , parking. Out of town covered malls is the way forward. Free parking, with all the main chains in them and decent food stores or food court. I hate town centre shopping.
Click to expand...
My little town is in the process of having a brand new retail, residential and restaurant complex around an open town square built just to the side of the centre of town. Much controversy about it as many deem it out of scale and out of character for what was a smallish market town.

My thinking is that it may well rejuvenate and add vitality to the existing town shopping and hospitality by enabling the old Georgian (and much older) town centre to become where you go for small and specialised retail shopping and individual restaurants, with the new complex having the chains. Plus the many flats and houses will home many folks who will likely take advantage of where they are to do small bits of shopping and eating 'on their doorstep'. My church (also in the very centre of town and adjacent to the new development) certainly views it as an opportunity for outreach and growth as we ourselves embark on a very significant rebuild of our cafe and community facilities.
 
Crazyface said:
Shut them all I say. Outdated and expensive , parking. Out of town covered malls is the way forward. Free parking, with all the main chains in them and decent food stores or food court. I hate town centre shopping.
Click to expand...
Have you been across to Altrincham at all? It's always held up as a blueprint for the transformation of a declining high street. Haven't been since the 80's so I'm out of touch there ?
 
Crazyface said:
Shut them all I say. Outdated and expensive , parking. Out of town covered malls is the way forward. Free parking, with all the main chains in them and decent food stores or food court. I hate town centre shopping.
Click to expand...
Look at places like Ledbury in Herefordshire, Tetbury, Winchcome and Thornbury in Gloucestershire. Beautiful High Streets
 
SocketRocket said:
Look at places like Ledbury in Herefordshire, Tetbury, Winchcome and Thornbury in Gloucestershire. Beautiful High Streets
Click to expand...
South Gloucestershire Council closed Thornbury High St to traffic for ‘COVID’ reasons last year, social distancing etc. Huge fuss now as some want return of buses for access and others enjoy pedestrianisation and pubs and cafes spilling out onto the street - some claim it will be the death of the High Street in a market town, others that it will be a rebirth. Towns like golf clubs seem to have more opinions than people!
 
D-S said:
South Gloucestershire Council closed Thornbury High St to traffic for ‘COVID’ reasons last year, social distancing etc. Huge fuss now as some want return of buses for access and others enjoy pedestrianisation and pubs and cafes spilling out onto the street - some claim it will be the death of the High Street in a market town, others that it will be a rebirth. Towns like golf clubs seem to have more opinions than people!
Click to expand...
I visited Thornbury a couple of months ago and had a drink and lunch with friends sat outside in the high street, it was lovely. One of the nicest high streets around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: D-S
larmen said:
We left. Brentford about 3 years ago, can’t believe it didn’t make the list. Must mean those 10 are awful.
The pharmacist in Brentford is great, the rest is horrendous. But if you need a place to get your nails done launder your income from drug dealing, have your pick.
Click to expand...

Corrected it for you ;)
 
Many years ago, I used to work in Telford... It is a bit strange case of town planning.
Someone started with an Asda and a big car park in the centre and then built the rest of the town around it. Puts a new meaning to 'town centre'
 
Crazyface said:
Being from Macclesfield, we don't actually openly admit to knowing the place exists at all.:LOL::LOL:
Click to expand...

I did some work in Maccs.. this is before AZ closed down. Could never find a decent 'business' place to stay - though there were plenty of golf/country manors around. When they announced that AZ was shutting down, the mood was fairly sombre. Not been back there in ages.
My biggest surprise was the very posh looking furniture store near the station. Apparently they sell to Harrods and the likes. Bianco or something. Very strange place for such a store.
 
Mudball said:
I did some work in Maccs.. this is before AZ closed down. Could never find a decent 'business' place to stay - though there were plenty of golf/country manors around. When they announced that AZ was shutting down, the mood was fairly sombre. Not been back there in ages.
My biggest surprise was the very posh looking furniture store near the station. Apparently they sell to Harrods and the likes. Bianco or something. Very strange place for such a store.
Click to expand...
Arighi Bianchi is the name you are looking for. It is a very grand furniture place, my mum goes to the cafe there when she is in Macclesfield, she lives just a few miles away. Apparently set up by two Italians who came from a silk town in Italy and moved to the silk town of Macclesfield, hence why there, back in the 19 century. It would have supplied the wealthy Manchester industrialists, Lancashire mill owners etc as well as then going on to supply the big London stores. Amazing that it has still survived but there is plenty of money in that part of Cheshire so if it is going to survive anywhere...........
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Arighi Bianchi is the name you are looking for. It is a very grand furniture place, my mum goes to the cafe there when she is in Macclesfield, she lives just a few miles away. Apparently set up by two Italians who came from a silk town in Italy and moved to the silk town of Macclesfield, hence why there, back in the 19 century. It would have supplied the wealthy Manchester industrialists, Lancashire mill owners etc as well as then going on to supply the big London stores. Amazing that it has still survived but there is plenty of money in that part of Cheshire so if it is going to survive anywhere...........
Click to expand...

Thats the one.. I found it very strange to see that shop esp where it is located. Taxi drivers talk of it in hushed tones - has almost a Harrods like status.

Just looked up its website and it has some good history to it. >> https://www.arighibianchi.co.uk/pages/our-heritage
 
So you're all set for a day of town centre shopping, but wondering how much it will cost to park.

I wouldn't recommend London. A permanent space there could set you back £500,000.
Birmingham is officially the worst place to park where a multi storey close to the city centre could cost £25 for just 2 hours.

It might be sensible to drive out to Norwich, one of the cheapest places to park based on the number of cars per parking spaces.
 
Strangely enough, for the first time in ages, I drove down Girvan high street the other day.
I noticed two or three decent new shops had opened and a new primary school [I assume] being built close to the harbour.
Lower car park seems to be having a makeover as well, it was a real eyesore as you drove into the town.
New Maybole bypass opened yesterday, new rebuild of Carrick Academy with assorted sports grounds etc plus work just started on a new supermarket in the town.
Things seem to be finally picking up in the region.

I would agree that Girvan High Street is a very sad reflection of it's old seaside town glory.
Sandown on the IOW seems to have suffered the same fate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top