How can we save the UK high street?
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- čas přidán 2. 03. 2024
- #ukpolitics #brexit #highstreet
Welcome come and join me in my van i am a everyday van delivery driver that enjoys talking politics in my van to share with all of you guys who are kind enough to listen
Today i talk about the death of the UK high street how the British high street is now full of boarded up shops and small coastal seaside towns like Jaywick, Clacton and western super mare have been neglected for year with no prospects for the residents that live there.
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Shame and it won't get any better with the so called 15min city's and the killing off of cars etc, sad indeed
Am I the only one that likes the sound of having everything you need within 15mins and the death of the car.
Let’s get fresh air and exercise stop relying on cars to get about
Let’s get well funded decent public transport
@@vanmantalksyoure probably one of many who really doesn't understand where it leads to.
@@visiblekoment Help us understand.
@@visiblekoment 15 minute cities are about ending reliance on cars, by creating environments where people can live, work, shop, socialise, all within a short distance. Of course, it's hard to see any councils in the UK doing it properly, and they'll probably think 'banning cars from the town centre' will make it work. I'm not even entirely sure how you could 'retro-fit' it to UK towns anyway.
@@vanmantalksIn total agreement with you, motorists have been a privileged and subsidised sector of the community for way past their sell by date.
Turn high streets into community hubs. Cafes, pubs, centers for classes, workshops - carpentry, crafts, pottery etc. things that you can’t do online and involve people socializing and meeting others. But I imagine the rates charged for shops etc is too high and so this kind of idea wouldn’t be affordable, given the rip-off rates charged by landlords
We did that in Inverness, a few of us rented one of the biggest shops and filled it with a skateboard shop, bike repair/rental, vintage clothes, record shop and a space for buskers to play. But the older generation complained because all the youngsters would hang a round there on weekends and holidays, and they would find in intimidating. So we got shut down and now it's a bookies with council offices.
You beat me to it
And try to keep the center compact.
Reminds me of ‘ruin pubs’ in Budapest where abandoned apartment blocks were turned into cafe/pubs/art spaces/food market…. People went to live music on Friday night others went for Sunday brunch.. attracts different types of people at different times.
@@b00ts4ndc4ts ffs🤦🏻♂️
1. Ask the tories for public dosh back.
2. Install an elected PM and not this secondhand miniature one.
3. Never vote tory again
Follow these steps to save the country.
Vote for who? Labour? The Lib Dems? Reform? UKIP? And what do you think any of them will do that is different to the Tories? We ain’t voting our way out of this one, I’m afraid. It is way past that. Democracy is dead it just hasn’t realised it.
@@emceedoctorb3022 totally right .. Starmer offers more austerity. I won't be voting for more of the same 😢
No he doesn't. He offers investment in the country.
The Tories have pressed austerity so hard that people have started to believe it's the way forward. Labour will not continue the Tory mistakes.
Let's face it. No political party is perfect. Not even close. But as far as I'm concerned, starting to move in the right direction is the only option. We need to do whatever we can to get rid of the Tories, and I like a lot of what Labour have to say.
@TheMatthooks you are delusional. They are LITERALLY offering more austerity. You can lift their direct quotes pretty much admitting it! This is to pander to the rich and establishment class, throwing investment, fairer taxation, and Public infrastructure under the non existent bus .. just like the Tories!
I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm still not voting the Starmer Party.
@@emceedoctorb3022 derp, yeah i mean corbyn v boris was all the same wasnt it? 'they are all the same' is tory propaganda from the 50s. educate yourself.
Major issue with UK travel is the travel itself, either spend half the weekend in traffic or get a train that costs more one way than a return flight to Malaga !!
There is a fella called the a wondering Turnip who was one of if not the first to document the death of the high street. He does not have an agenda but allows the viewer to see how the high street, jobs, local economy has crumbled. We all come to our own conclusion that funding for services and to councils has been massively reduced and in the comments it always goes back to the elephant in the room…The Facist Tories and 14 years of decline with a huge dollop of brexit.
So much for the so called levelling up of the North which was promised if as Bodger and that lizard Cuntings Put it “Get Brexit Done”
He actually did include Turnip in the video at around 2:00
Oh dear. You have no clue what a fascist is, do you? The Tories are awful and many things but fascist isn’t one of them.
How come there was not all this desolation before Brexit.Busy town centres,everything seemed hunky dory.Common market was fine..But then Ted Heath ,without any consultation with the voting public dragged us into the depths of hell otherwise known as the EU. Immigrants poured into the country, not wanting to work for anyone,except for cash in hand,or if you worked for them,me only pay you cash. Billion’s lost in revenue.Large Victorian houses modernised for large families to live at meagre rents.One family I knew had fifteen Children,told me he received eight pounds per child,plus all the perks, in eighty five that was big money,especially for someone not working,more than the average working man earned.Then there was Blair, thankfully we had emigrated to Oz,before he made things even worse.Best thing we ever did .
The Tories are totally facist. Look at Coupmoron who likes em fat. @@emceedoctorb3022
I wonder if the Australians see you as one of the immigrants that are "pouring in" their country. Or is it OK for YOU to change where you live, but not anyone else?
When I arrived back in UK 9 years ago I could see that UK is heading towards a police state; I am shocked at what has happened to this country since the 90's
I think we need some examples. There are few Police. There are speed camera and double-yellow lines. Is that what you mean?
@@robertwhite3503 no, they mean they are trying to ban protests, trying to make it illegal to criticise the tories etc. the UK is far more totalitarian than any time in my 50 years on this planet.
@robertwhite3503 We've got more surveillance cameras than any other country on the plane, except for Beijing in China. The Government have given themselves the authority to snoop on people's bank accounts without them knowing, protest is severely restricted, along with strikes, and our unelected Prime Minister has decided that he can just override people's human rights, the Tories are trying to force through taking away our privacy and monitoring our Internet usage, and Tories keep saying that we need to get rid of all of our human rights, but please do tell us how we're all free...
I came back here about 9 years ago. Having been in OZ for many years. OZ is another police state proven in the last few years.. But in all honesty if I'd known this is what the future was here I would never off come back.. I could go back but there's not much chance of me owning a home in Oz now.
@VXRHSV what is OZ?
Yes, there's been no investment but somehow we've accumulated a £2.7 Trillion debt! Discuss!
Tory farmers that milk the country.
Would a Penny or too have mysteriously washed up in zelensky’s off shore account maybe? 🤷♂️
Since 2010 1.5 trillion was used to prop up the banks, stock market ,Brexit, housing market and covid.
That’s what happens when you look after the rest of Eastern Europe,foreign aid to countries that are funding space exploration (India),good old uncle England,they all make a B-Line here,whilst our own are in shop doorways,the ones that are boarded up,Internet is a marvellous invention,but the main cause of the high street demise.
@@neilrobinson5115wrong channel ...GB news is what you're looking for.
As an outsider it's fascinating to see the stark contrast to here.
I'm also in a seaside town, but a Norwegian one - Haugesund. Between Bergen and Stavanger.
it's not a holiday town though, never been - always been a port for fishing, logistics, the oil industry etc.
Our high street Haraldsgaten is a quite lively place, with shops, clothes shops, cafes, restaurants, cute old shops for traditional handcraft, etc.
Norway is a beautiful country that rectifies so many wrongs the UK has!
@@joecurly3637Its only a matter of time before foreigners realise that there is an unspoilt country on the go!
@@DarrenJamiesonJamieson Norway has quite a bit of migrants. So 🤷♂️
@@mistermood4164 Yeah. Are they looking forwards to a backwards future?
There's also parks and green spaces where I live, full of litter, rubbish, overflowing dog poo bins and abandoned shopping trolleys.
It really is depressing at times.
personally i think you can make this into a positive number free ,
a prior comment upset yt , it happens alot , in edit here is the post yt found too offensive to be seen in public or nearish
" seize the day number free , take the opportunity to see there is muck in brass , organise a local community clear up , it will strengthen community bonds and show that we can take control of our lives and fook the govt , its our world too
Because the government has chronically underfunded local councils for the past 14 years.
The councils just don't have the cash to properly look after their parks and open spaces.
Not all green spaces and parks are like that. Yes we have rundown areas but its not like that everywhere
@@TheMatthookswhere do you think the money would come from for extra funding? The government is running a huge deficit and several high profile councils have recently gone bust i.e. Birmingham.
@@matthewstrange3778 borrowing?
I live in Southport, it has a beautiful high street called Lord Street, it was falling into disrepair but a few local business men have invested heavily and rescued a lot of buildings. I didn't know what we would have done without them.
And then the government will bill them for higher businesses rates for improving the high street.
It’s not just seaside towns,where I live in Derbyshire,Alfreton it’s a disgrace,there’s a nail bar,about four hairdressers,bookies,vape shops and goodness knows how many takeaways.In the last few months Shoezone,WH Smith’s and they are talking about Boots closing now.And to be honest Derby apart from one shopping precinct is lots of boarded up shops.
Because of no options for the young adults, they move elsewhere and it's those guys that spend all their money living free having fun. And when people move away for education they don't come back.
Eagle Centre ? is that still going ?
Best thing to do is sell it all to foreigners with our own money.
Oh sorry.
They're already doing it!
Try Clifton, Nottingham.
@@b00ts4ndc4ts correct - and then most constituencies by uneducated retirees who elect the worst MPs possible.
It’s a silent depression we are in, think people are starting to realise we have been in it for quite a while.
Some reasons contributing to the decline of the high street are sky high rents and rates for the properties and sky high parking charges. Reduce the cost of having a business and of visiting the business will go a long way to stopping the rot.
Thought about selling my furniture in a shop many times but completely pointless business rate’s utilities etc
A little town near me not far from Bradford called Saltaire, cafes are thriving, street veg boxes are everywhere and allotments. The park always has festivals and there is a train station. Its a thriving community area with a wonderful mill conversion art gallery featuring David Hockney... honestly it's just so refreshing.
Sounds Beautiful would love to visit
@@vanmantalks it's worth it. It's a UNESCO world heritage site 🙂
Saltaire brewery aswell
@@christopherjones9826 indeed! 😃
If people have more money, they spend more money, if they spend more money this creates more employment which creates more money... Round and Round
Not if they spend it on foreign cars and foreign holidays. It leaves the country never to be seen again. That's what most Brits do.
@@nickdoughty518Does that include the spending on gas, electric and water which is also foreign owned?
@@Ghengiskhansmum the huge profits mainly go abroad. How did we let so much industry and vital infrastructure get sold abroad?
@@nickdoughty518even if they do spend it on foreign cars, a chunk still goes to the dealership, which employs local people.
They pay local people to maintain it.
The point is, give £100 to a poor person,and £100 to someone who already has more money than they could ever spend. Who's more likely to spend that money back in to the local economy and who's more likely to chuck it into an offshore bank account?
This is why trickle down economics never work. And why Tory austerity policy can never result in growth.
Borrowing to spend on infrastructure returns it's value many times over into the economy.
Cutting spending means the most vulnerable have less and less to spend, and inevitably throws us into recession.
@@nickdoughty518 ill need some proof for that. do you believe in trickle down economics?
Car dependent design of urban environments and the internet favours big corporations. Building large stores surrounded by parking or warehouses to accommodate home delivery or the convenience of driving to one place for everything is what is killing high streets, especially as walking around in places with so many busy roads everywhere is nothing more than a chore. You need to build places where people want to go, not places they will avoid unless they are forced to drive through them, when everyone drives to a supermarket or retail park or just orders stuff on Amazon, high streets die and only places that can compete - bookies, vape shops, off-licences and takeaways are often the only things left that compete with the home delivery or the supermarket. That is not only killing high streets, but strangling towns and cities economically, everyone wants to either hide at home because our cities aren't nice places to spend time, or they want to go somewhere else. The times where you'd have a nice lively town with people walking around are gone, we now just have a dystopian nightmare where going anywhere is too much of a pain in the arse, so you try to spend as little time shopping as p[possible or do it from home.
Free rates for start up business' so they can get a foot on the ladder is the only way they can compete with those big ones that don't pay any tax. Eh Amazon?
Worthing actually does this in some cases.
You are doing a marvellous job and service to your country by exposing the depth of poverty and where money should be spent
Used to use our town center shops but they screwed us with parking charges and an army of traffic wardens so we switched to shops with free parking and moved away.... No one at council would listen about parking charges so we ended up with dead town center
High rents business rates, car parking charges, LTNs, double yellow lines and internet shopping are contributing to the downfall of the high street.
You forgot high utility rates too. People don’t realise this but domestic utilities rates, which have gone through the roofs we are all feeling the effects of, are actually the cheapest. The larger the business the more they get charged for those utilities. Steel making is just about the most expensive electricity around. Shops get charged roughly 30% more than what your private home does.
@@emceedoctorb3022 yup. privatisation has been wonderful hasnt it? /s
@@kanedNunable Nothing to do with privatisation, it’s always been like that. Electricity generation is pretty much the only thing that isn’t subject to the law of supply and demand.
I often travel to the Netherlands where high streets are thriving. They do everything they can to discourage cars in town centres. Virtually every residential road is an LTN Motorists are killing the high street.
I miss the old high street. Before the internet was in its prime and we all went outside to go into the shops to get our goods. The high street was so lively back then but unfortunately all the points you have made in this video are true. I also think that the massive retail areas around towns have further contributed to high street decline because now people don’t have to go into town when they have to go outside to get shopping. The decline of the high street is really sad. I am a bit lucky to live near Kings Lynn in Norfolk as although it does have vape shops, gambling places and boarded up shops, it still has a lot of good places like the Poco Lounge, the Filling Station, Waterstones, the RSPCA charity book shop which has so many interesting books, CEX for video game lovers, Crafty Army Norfolk and finally the silver spoon cafe. However, I do miss the old shops that the UK doesn’t have anymore like Woolworths, C&A, BHS, Debenhams and now Wilko too. Argos is also basically dead as now it just operates in Sainsbury’s. I wish the high street would just go back to how it used to be but unfortunately that is pretty much impossible.
Councils seem paralysed with all these changes and appear clueless.
I think the high street was fairly horrible even before the internet, for years before there were already chains killing off independent shops, and very little to do except browse the same identical chain shops in any given town centre.
@Mantastic-ho3vmYour unreal.
please don’t give up on shops, we want to see a person when we shop, need to make an exchange; don’t give in to digital, it’s horrific how addicted everyone is to their phones. It’s maddening being out with a friend and they keep looking at their phones or answering calls, that aren’t emergencies. I agree that communities destroyed since Thatcher, are wonderful ways of developing independence, good relationships and cocking a snoot at the two useless, main parties.
The trouble is that no-one can make shops work. Lower Business Rates and remove yellow-lines might help, but they still won't work. Change the boarded up shops into flats and at least you have more accomodation. I would love to start a business doing wood work, but there is no way I could compete with Ikea and I doubt that many would want to pay for quality workmanship.
Most problem's is people don't have money to spend,In over priced Britian. Its the gap between rich and poor is the main problem, I spent £1000 for 4 night at a uk hotel, B&B , For £2500 i got 2 weeks in gran cannaira hotel all exclusive,Flights and transfers.
They spend money on there tourist spots, clean nice beaches, no rubbish laying around,walkways keeped in tip top condition,roads no potholes, Allways good weather,
Busses are so cheep.like in cypruss flat fares.
Trains here cost like £15 for 2 stops,total rip off. this is what you get for privertising everything,( Money stuffing the rich pockets) and many never paying full taxs. back to to treasury.
UK is one big Sh-t show
RIP OFF BRITAIN.
I think you are correct when you say these towns need to radically change but I also think Britain needs to get out of this extreme focus on its past and seeking to restore things to a past state. In fact I would go so far as to say that the extreme focus on the past is what causes these issues, the lack of a vision for a future that could be different from anything that has been there before.
I also believe tourism is a secondary concern. Why should anyone want to visit places where people don't even want to live? Make the places great for the locals and tourists will likely follow automatically. This doesn't have to be super-expensive investment either, though some investment is needed but tearing down all those boarded up buildings would be a good start and maybe making those towns greener, more pedestrian- and bike-friendly, make the centre of the town something for humans to meet and hang out, eat and enjoy entertainment, not a street for cars.
Opportunities are also not really something that people from the outside will just offer to the people living in these towns, opportunities are things they need to make for themselves and to help them with that better education is absolutely crucial as well as better infrastructure, both inside those towns and also to connect them to the rest of the country. The latter would also help with tourism, nobody wants to travel to a place that is hard to reach.
Just been to Blackpool last week after loooonnng time.
I was shocked by its state .
Its crumbling away.
Shocking .
I went as a kid and loved it, went back as an adult 2010 it was depressing
Although the weather is lousy, Worthing seafront looks very pretty. I can imagine however that flats there are astronomically priced.
Why do I go to an out of town Sainsburys or Tescos and not the high street?: Easy: free parking, trolley to get stuff to the car, crime free, and weather proof shopping. If you want to save a high street, just implement those four things and we will use them. But towns are greedy and want to charge you £3 to park, they harass you with traffic wardens, there are no trolleys, no policing and they are not weather proof. Calling for government investment is all very well, but we know it would be wasted or stolen money. Governments can enable, but they are truly lousy at investment. And the government does not invest in the big out of town supermarkets, and yet they are successful.
There's this fascinating 'mirror image ' of Victorian seaside towns ' in the Netherlands. They have very similar architecture ,sqme layout ,etc ( same climate !;) But they are relatively small (compared to the U.K) and more attached to main cities .They are very well maintained . They keep being renovated and are still 'the place to be'. The moment the sun appears, Dutch (& Germans) flood them. Now obviously England is far bigger and has a bigger population. But still, I remember visiting Brighton (I think ?) and saw how incredibly huge it was .And then I saw how many of these huge beach places there are . Also a lot of these English sea side towns are not directly connected to main cities. It's not like in the Netherlands, where the two biggest coastal areas are a 15 minute tram/car drive from The Hague center , or half an hour train/car from Amsterdam. The ones I've seen in England felt just far too big and there are just too many of them .They were build in another time for another kind of tourists. So maybe safe a few and invest in re-building them ?
I'm italian. In the early 90s I took 2 study holidays in England. The first was in Crawley the second in Plymouth. I stayed with an English family and went to college during the day. Weekends took us to visit coastal towns. I know that after Brexit, study holidays are taken in Ireland.
I had 2 holidays last year, one in a holiday park & one in a little town in spain.
The difference was massive. In spain there were many, well maintained play areas, stages with live music, cafés & restaurants. As a result the evening were buzzing. Not just with tourists, with locals and at thw weekend, day trippers.
In the UK, the cafes shut at 5 and there was rubbish everywhere in local spaces.
Austerity and wage stagnation has killed the local town. I am a middle income income earner and even so our local town is shocking. My wife went to pick up our eldest last night at 7pm and saw youths running around with knives, we saw a guy openly shooting up on a Saturday AM.
Invest, get more police making these palces feel safer, more cleaners to keep them clean. Encourage local businesses with better business rates and rent..
Its goung to take years, to change people's mindset but we had 15 years of a government actively killing infrastructure.
Managed decline. Badly managed at that
Well, the weather in the UK is not the best
I can't see the High Street ever recovering. With Internet shopping being so much easier, far cheaper, and with a larger range of choices. not to forget the OTT bills such as rents, energy, business rates, and insurance that make running a retail outlet too costly for many folks and companies. The days of popping down the road to get something like a new TV or shoes or a bit of furniture are destined to be a nothing more than a memory of a bygone age!!!
Back in 2012, I needed a new hard drive and connectors. So I went down to the shops to see what they had. The hard drive was £120ish and the connectors were about £40. I then checked online and found them both for £120!!! Which saved me enough money to buy of a decent length of good quality speaker cable for my stereo!!!
My camera is another good example, because on the High Street in 2018, I would have paid £1100 (brand new but opened), but ended up getting it online and I only payed £660 (brand new and unopened)!!!
My job takes me around Europe...Countries have internet shopping, and thriving high streets. Britain is broke, and it looks it.
@@zivkovicableyep agree - but they also have a much higher proportion of residential properties generally. Means there is always footfall. The residential properties were priced out in u.k. town centre by commercial property companies cashing in and shit planning
@@markhenry2174 Yes shit planning is key, & a major factor in say the Netherlands and Denmark is that they will rarely give planning permission to out of town shopping centres, and only then if they agree to restricted parking, & take financial responsibility for providing sustainable infrastructure such a bike lanes and tram lines.
High streets are well connected, and usually car free, which encourages people to stay longer and spend money.
@@zivkovicable greed is a major factor in the u.k. Big business rules and no one wants to upset them
You hit the nail on the head about lack of investment, when you mentioned Covid. How much money did we waste on that, with lockdowns, furlough, buying poisonous 'vaccines' etc. Just imagine if all that wasted money could have been spent on improving run down areas.
Worthing 'survives' (if you can call it that) because it has the highest elderly per capita in the country which creates a cycle of high home sell offs as elderly go into care homes and wealthy families (due to these homes being larger) moving into the area, notably due to its proximity to Brighton. Worthing's high street isn't dead but that's because it's shops for toys for the younger generation or tat furniture, hearing aids and mobility scooters.
Crucially, Worthing isn't the exception to the rule, it's the cause of the rule in other places.
It also helps that the Worthing/Lancing A27 was voted worst road in the UK so leaving is pretty impossible too...
I can attest to that, The A27 in rush hour is horrendous
To save the high street, we need to tackle the problem of cost. Most of what I get on the high street can be bought online for cheaper and I can do my online shopping without leaving my home or getting dressed.
I live in Sompting and the high street in Lancing is rather pitiful so I tend to walk (about 45 minutes or 15 if I take the bus) into Worthing. One of the things I love about Worthing is the pedestrianisation of the high street and the fact it is spread out amongst several streets.
Bring community hubs to the high street - workshops to get into trades, classes, spots for socialising etc. But the first one is the big one, it could potentially opens routes for many people.
rosab has a similar post ,i also think along these lines ,thumbs up good post
parking would need to be massively increased. at the moment it would cost me 100 a week in parking to do a course in the city. thats mental.
tax amazon would be a start
Where I live, if you do take on a local shop ,rest assured , you will be getting a visit from the local security specialists.
Another problem hardly anyone talks about is. Everyone works 9-5 all while shops and businesses are open 9-5. So everyone who has a job will literally never get a chance to do business on the high street. Garages and trades are guilty of this as well, making people take time out of their jobs just to get things done.
The high streets seem to be ok in the rest of Europe, so I don't think we can blame the internet for the state of ours. I suspect that the decline in real terms wages and a lack of disposable income has a lot to do with it. People need to be paid properly for a thriving high street.
I stayed in Scarborough's Grand Hotel back in the 70's.. it was Grand.
Their beach is nice, the castles great and the North Yorkshire Moors Nationaal Park is beautiful.
Come and visit 😊
I'm originally from North Yorks before emigrating all the way to NL, but I holiday in the UK twice a year combined with visiting family.. so I'm doing my bit in supporting what increasingly looks like our dodgy poorer neighbour, this time we're stopping off for a few days in the Woking area if anyone has a top tip.
All we can do as a citizen is send this utubers videos to every MP in Parliament.
The difficulty is coming up with an idea. Shops cannot compete with Amazon. Cafes cannot compete with home cooking unless there are local passing trade. Cinemas needs large amounts of land and CZcams provides films. You could provide a college for learning plumbing or electrics, but will it attract enough people or will the Government just finance it for people with idle time? Should Governments open a chain of pubs in competition with Weatherspoons. People are not going to pubs and they are closing down. The Government cannot be financing all businesses. Perhaps they could exchange Busines Rates for income taxes but would that make difference. Businesses that work are nail bars because you cannot order online and you can employee cheap labour. Perhaps the answer is to impose taxes for online such that the price of online goods double, but I cannot see this being popular, even if it does revive the high street..
@carolinecollett956
PLOT TICIANS couldn't give 2 hoots about us.
@@pabo-qv3nx I have known a couple of politicians and I think that's too cynical. There is the party line. Conservatives will tend to want to reduce taxation. Labour will tend to look towards employment. But the problem is that very few people have any idea of what they want or seem unable to describe it. Just saying the town looks poor is simply grumbling. Saying I have a petition from thousands of locals saying they would be prepared to pay more tax for a subsidized cinema is a plan. Without that you are left with stuff like finding money to fill pot holes, paint railings and other lower cost activities. I think most people would agree that lower tax and more Government spending would be nice but unachievable. If you were a politician, what would you propose?
@@robertwhite3503
I'd never be a PLOT TICIAN but I know that the CORRUPT government knows how to squander taxpayers hard earned money. They have money for wars and stupid projects.
I had the misfortune to live in Worthing for a couple of years when I was a teenager in the mid-1970s. Anyone who has spent a dull wet sunday in the town will understand why people do drugs.
Well there should be more Drug addicts in the uk considering it rains most of the year.
Don't forget the charity shops. There are 5 in my little town, and I'm getting jaded with them
i am not sure if it will save the high street but it would be nice if Amazon paid its taxes for starters..Austria has high streets, busy shopping centers and people have spare money.Oh thats right they are in the heart of the EU.Ok smaller towns in Austria have shopping streets that need investment but Vienna is doing well almost all over the city and its growing.I went to Crroydon in the south east of London and it was almost a ghost town.The heart of it was practically empty and Allders a massive building right in the heart of Croydon has been standing empty for years maybe decades.Croydon was a busy thriving shopping destination once and everyone ,even me had money.Croydon is not unusual though .This is a thing all over the UK.
When there was talk of introducing an Amazon tax. Trump threatened the UK with selective sanctions. The UK govt accepted the reality. The consequences being a contribution to the death of the high street.
It's an Anglo sphere thing. All this delapadation seems to affect the English speaking world the most.
Commercial rates and parking charges through the roof. Check Hastings; a large hotel and seaside restaurant closed last month. As to local shops - use it or lose it.
Thanks ,your updates are excellent, 100%spot on, it's all in dire state, thanks to toxic Conservative gov, 14 years of Austerty & decline, whilst the gap between the Wealthy & everybody else grows wider,every year.& the Uks Debt reaches record high.
Sounds like the United States of America.
It's almost as if the Tories borrowed the US playbook on how to make the rich richer at the expense of 95% of the population.
It's a systemic problem and it affects, well, everything I guess. Politically (in the UK anyway) the problem is that just fixing one thing will hardly make a noticeable difference and we don;t even want to spend the money on that. I'm in Cleethorpes and we actually do still get day trippers quite a lot - the railway station is next to the beach but the train company involved is Trans Pennine so trains are unreliable. Parking isn't bad, but it's expensive - a park and ride from Grimsby would help; you could use parking areas to create more activities but huge parts of the seafront derelict - an old theme park just rotting there. There's always talk of development but nothing ever seems to actually happen. And I don't know where to start with the effect raw sewerage is having.
In the end the thing you need to fix first is everything, we've broken so much. Just fixing transport or just fixing health or just fixing pollution or just fixing the rental sector etc. won't cut it but our political system pretty much demands that the electorate can see improvement over a 4 year parliament or the other lot get back in. Because we don't seem to have a party that will stand up the the neo-liberalism that (I believe) is at the root of it all, that nothing is done unless a profit can be made, and if the profit can be made by not even doing it then all the better, we're kinda stuck.
I've said it here before - little acts of people power local at least make you feel better and improve things locally; clean the beach, work in a community garden, support local arts initiatives, maybe join an activist group. It's not going to fix much, but you can enjoy an afternoon feeling smug in the company of others 😉
I think there are many issues involved, it is not a simple problem to solve. I do see some problems which revolve around car dependence though. People have become so used to driving to supermarkets and big out of town shopping places where they can easily park. This is not the case in most town centres where it is difficult to do so, so people do not do it. The same goes for pubs as people can't drive to the pub and drink alcohol, they don't, and there is such poor public transport that there is no alternative - and they certainly can't walk !!! As for internet shopping (I am in my 70's but use the internet routinely to shop) there has been a drift away from High Street shopping since the 1970's on the back of driving to the cities 40/50 or so miles from us (in the Scottish Borders to Carlisle, Newcastle, and Edinburgh) rather than our town centre. It is, sadly, difficult to critiscise this though as the choice is so much better in those cities, and people also see it as a day out. The internet is just an extension of this better, and easier, choice. As for 15 minute cities, I can walk from one end of our town to the other in 15 minutes, so it is not really relevent. There is more to it, though. As decent employment has disappeared lower wages have restricted peoples buying power. I really think that low wages are the biggest problem the country has. As I say that though, I do struggle to understand why I see more and more bigger and more expensive "luxury" cars on our roads and choking our streets.
As for what to do about run-down town centres, what I would like to see is more housing created from them. This requires investment though and this now seems to depend on the private sector (as it seems that public money can not be spent any more) and they only invest where they can make money and probably prefer to go to the big cities. I've been down to London and Manchester in recent years and never cease to be amazed at the number of cranes supporting house and office building there. Like yourself I actually care about all these problems but, as you can probably see, I struggle to see a way forward. Much as I want rid of the Tories, I do not here anything from any of the other parties about how to solve these issues. Anyway, thanks again for an excellent video. You are right on the ball with your observations.
After decades of stagnation, Worthing has had a lot of recent investment over the last 5-10 years. Splash Point and Bayside apartments (tower block on the right 5:16) replacing the 60's Aquarena swimming pool, Teville Gate had it's car park demolished for redevelopment (ongoing) which is next to the new HMRC tax office. The main town also has a large new medical centre being built and a number of flats e.g. Grand Avenue (Calista) and next to the library that replaced the Wheatsheaf pub in Richmond Road.
I love going to our local sea sides like Weston super mare, Minehead and Burnham on sea
Wandering Turnip, Joe Fish and By the Curb all good to see what's going on...
When I saw your poll last night, it was quite hard for me to think of which option would be my ideal pick, as it would really depend on the surroundings. However, I can share with you that as a former resident of Bradford (which is landlocked) a lot of buildings are extremely run-down and boarded up, but the "Bradford by the sea" towns of Blackpool and Morecambe have been in that sort of state for some time and parts have improved in recent years. Speaking of addiction buildings, there's plenty of those but unfortunately a lot of takeaway and fast food places which is a massive drawback. But I certainly do agree that more investment needs to go into making these places more hospitable and productive!
I went to Blackpool as a kid in the 90s and loved it.
Went back in 2010 it was so depressing what wasn’t boarded up was in a 1980s time warp
@@vanmantalks My last visit was about 7 years ago where its improved slightly, but I do regularly kinda liking it when i was younger despite knowing about it's reputation; Southport is where I went to just before covid and its generally a lot nicer. You mentioned Scarborough, that is a nice place so is Bridlington, Whitby is a bit disappointing but I absolutely love Saltburn, that is a seaside town that's so well looked after; I'm definitely more of an east coast boy, but I still plan to visit more as time goes on!
I can't speak for all towns but mine is pretty small and the reason I and many avoid the high street/ town centre is the lack of parking. Warden's always out to get you, one hour isn't enough if you have things to do. Even driving up to get a hair cut if the place Is busy, you've no hope to get in and out in time. Paid parking is extortionate I refuse to pay it.
So people who drive go to the retail parks with tons shops and abundant free parking.
The councils are broke because too many people are on social gvt payments.When vat started ,more people avoid it by under the table arrangements thus less revenue. Too many poor people get more on social than by working.
Reminds me of the former GDR in the year 1990!
Weather is one of the many major factors facing your country. It's awful, gray and depressing. Unfortunately it's the one thing you cannot change too
We have a number of closed shops in Colchester due to all the reasons you mention. The local council is trying to help by revamping a couple of central squares with levelling up money. Plus a couple of old empty shop units have been covered into a community bike repair shop and a secure bike storage place which you access via an app. Both of these seem to work well.
Great video, not sure about some of the commentary.
Key points about commercial rates and online selling are spot-on.
The problem with rates is that the councils are largely so financially inept that if they reduce them they really won't have a clue on what to do about the shortfall. There was a recent BBC article where the council leader and councillors did not seem to have a particular professional grasp of what their problems were.
I lived in Worthing for a number of years, so it was a pleasant reminisce and, yes, there are some empty high street stores (particularly the big brands like Debenhams, but because of their size, they tend to dominate conversations and distort perceptions) but on the whole, it has transformed itself from a “seaside resort” to a “town that is on the coast”.
I now live about 10 miles to the west, in Littlehampton - less noticeable decline because the high street shops are smaller, but we now get empty units replaced by (in order of proliferation):
1. women's hairdressers (we must be prosperous because we can support 3 or 4 hairdressers in about 400 metres, with 2 of them side by side)
2. bookies
3. vape shops - the scourge of modern life
4. Nail bars
5. barber shops - keep appearing!
The traditional high street brands such as Boots and W H Smiths (and almost every bank) have decided that enough is enough and have deserted.
The TUI travel agent, gave up the ghost and it is now a nail bar.
Even the charity and second-hand shops are closing down.
Back to one of the points, blaming the government for everything, is an easy cop-out (I am a committed socialist for the past 60 years so I have no love of the Tories and was in Wakefield during the miners' strike) but how can you defend councils that are bankrupt or close to that situation, who are spending millions of pounds on renovating their own offices/town halls?
My view, which will no doubt antagonise the vast majority of the people who view your videos, is that the ultimate responsibility lies with the voting public;
1. Who voted for Brexit, which is now seen as the root of many evils?
2. Who votes for councillors, without talking to them, listening to them, challenging them on how they are going to provide a fair service for their community, within budget?
3. Who votes for an MP without knowing what they are prepared to do to champion the causes of their constituency (or even turn up on a regular basis), or is it just based on the colour of their rosette?
My reaction is pretty negative about life in the UK today, but where are the businesses offering apprenticeships, where are the college courses aimed at practical training which could go a long way to improving national productivity - instead we can have a degree course in Harry Potter or a hands-on course in sponge stencilling; now those really make the rest of the commercial world sit up and quake about the potential rise from the ashes of the UK economy.
We need joined up thinking about all aspects of society - education, social services, healthcare, transport, productivity, IT, social media etc. and that is not going to happen whilst we have such a divided political system where co-operation across “parties” is actively discouraged, and you have a bunch of non-elected individuals (the Lords) who mostly only turn up to get their daily fee, and can approve or block anything based on whether or not they have a dinner date that day.
And, by the way, regardless of the comments of one of your responders, Worthing has the absolute best charity shop (Heart Foundation) I have ever come across - quality furniture that beats any of the mainstream providers, at a fraction of the cost.
Finally, why do local councils not have the power to set the rent for private rentals, based on property size, facilities etc. related to their own social housing stocks - it might be a short-term solution fo lack of rental properties in tourist hotspots - and then, if the owner decides that they want out of the rental market, the council caps the sale price of an ex-rental property. As a country, the people who are supposed to be championing our interests do not have any collective balls.
The market place has moved on-line. There has to be a total re-think on rent and rates for the on-line and off-line market places with incentive to create community/art spaces.
It's the same over here. Only way to fix it is to lower the prices for rents for shops and raise rhe salaries for people. It's the same here in Germany as well in parts. Only crap shops left if any at all. Many closed forever.
You're asking the wrong question - the UK high street was doomed the minute e-commerce became mainstream, and as a result high streets globally are going over a state of transition as they struggle to find their identity. Over the next 20 years you're going to see less stores (hopefully) more living/green spaces as brown goods get delivered from warehouse hubs. It's the march of globalism mate, and I honestly have no problem with it - the problem I have is the free market capitalist path we appear to have chosen.
If I was going to be talking about the decline of seaside towns, I wouldn't be doing it in Worthing, a seaside town that was never as popular as Bognor or Littlehampton, so when the seaside holiday industry collapsed, it wasn't so badly affected.
I've lived all over the south coast (including Brighton) and I've got to say it's a great place to raise a family.
My local high street, here's a list of 12 shops in a row, Turkish barbers, chicken take away, kebab shop, pound shop, Turkish Barbers, Greggs, William Hill, Kebab shop, nail bar, chicken take away, pizza. And the opposite side pretty much the same.
It's the same all over the uk. But what gets me how do they make money ,for example 2 or 3 barber's in the same street or several nail salons etc.
The high street is dead and It's easy to blame the likes of Amazon etc, but, while they have contributed the truth is the Tories have made it impossible for small business to exist. Eventually, the UK will become like the US, massive areas of housing and retail parks with the small corner shops, independent high street shops a distant memory.
I know it sounds crazy and I’d love to hear peoples opposing views on it but I think the UK’s high street and city centres would benefit from legalising cannabis (it’s already available to buy in the UK from a private medicinal clinic for things like depression, anxiety, insomnia etc). I don’t get why we can’t have cannabis cafes, cannabis restaurants, cannabis-friendly crazy golf, cannabis-friendly bowling, cannabis-friendly arcades. They have bars inside of hotels, so why not add cannabis flowers to the menu along with edibles, and concentrates, pre rolls, and even cannabis-infused drinks. Same thing with music venues, make them cannabis friendly or allow venues to obtain licenses to sell cannabis to make more profit. High street stores would open again, the slowly decaying music industry in the UK could be saved, new restaurants, new experiences, less angry alcoholics getting into fights and more people laughing, smiling and looking to order some food while stoned.
Sorry to tell you, but the highstreet has been slowly dying since the 1980's, because of supermarkets and box stores, like at 10:15. They moved the shops from the town centre, to just out of town. So blaming people, because they starting to shop online, and saying that is killing the high street is wrong. The online shopping is just taking people away from the out of town stores.
There is a way to save the high street, but it costs money. You just have to look at the old towns/cities that have nearly banned all traffic (your nightmare), improved public transport to the town centre, or people are able to walk/bike there easly. Give the buildings character, make the foot paths bigger, with trees around the place, and nice cafes/coffee bars where people can go and sit at, in or outside, without breathing in exhaust fumes.
In other words make it a place people want to go and stay, and not just get what they want and then get out.
The problem is, it all costs money, it will upset drivers because of the war on cars.
Boefore the voye on Brexit, I saw a TV program, which followed a couple in north east London, as they went up the local high street. They were syprised by the number of shops that were run by eastern Europeans, and were blaming them for there being no butchers, greengrocers, and a lot of other stuff that had been there 15 years ago. And how the eastern Europeans, must have forced them all out, they had missed it because they had been going to the supermarket for 15-20 years, and they missed the idea that every one else had done the same, and that butcher had not waited the 15-20 years for them to come back, and them to give their trade to the butcher.
The thing is if you give people somewhere where they would want to go, and visit and stay for a while, and met up with friends. Then people will go there, they will also shop there. OK they may not do their weekly shop there, but something that could be bought on Amazon. A shop where you can get to know the person that runs the shop, some where that will employ some onelocal. To be fair I only really buy on Amazon, because there is not a local shop to buy it from.
Amazon has been declining for years, if not financially, but in terms of the increasing number of counterfeit items, unsafe items, a higher proportion of low quality items than ever and outright scams. Even buying direct from Amazon can now result in second hand used items being sent, so I've gradually reduced my usage. Item reviews were ruined with the silent removal of being able to reply and the change to reviews in which those underneath an item no longer always reference the exact model of what is shown on the page too. It's main positive is it's return policy. For now at least
Worthing's my hometown! I'm glad that you're somewhat local to me!
I grew up in Worthing and most of my family still live there
@@vanmantalks Thanks for your reply. Just wanted to ask, what's your name? I've been watching you for a while and I don't think I've ever learnt it.
@@philiprandall9994 mark 👍👍
@@vanmantalksThanks for your answer! Have a great week!
To me it's common business sense of why money does not get used in the UK, because the business men, councilors, politicians use offshore accounts to avoid taxes in these the UK and other countries that's why, so when they do that, the accumulation of money in their bank accounts here or else where "has" to be laundred " into assets" in other countries to remove or move the money else where, and people like us plebs or mere mortals wonder why, exploitation and survival is running rife.
As well as all these business men, councilors, politicians are all friends, buddies and partners what ever name you want to call it.
Going back to first principles, towns evolved as safe gathering places that were lived in. Shops and trade followed. No-one lives in town centres so they have lost their meaning. Only when people start living in town centres will trade return.
Everyone doing online shopping...I rarely use it...high streets in London now full with mafia cafes and barbers...vape shops...one drug mafia behind the lot..
Coastal towns thrived on their fishing industries, which of course no longer exist. The tourist industry was the fall back, which of course is seasonal and it's a general downward spiral from there. I don't know how you change it unless you move big industry into coastal places. But you can't just throw money at dying towns. They have to be able to survive on their own at some point.
I noticed what you say about British High Streets ages ago, when my daughter moved house and I was looking at the small town (not seaside) she moved to, so I looked at the towns I have lived in before I emigrated away from there in 2001. Betfred, Indian owned convenience stores, vape shops, a lack of larger stores, zero variety and closed down shop fronts all seem to be what the town centers are all about these days. Note, while I am sure the Indian owned small stores are essential for some places, they are a symptom of a lack of EVERYTHING needed and now missing in the small towns.
"Turd towns" is a fun watch.
Shop local is easy to say, but the government needed to act early, rates for shops stayed high and parking charges came in, while out of town shopping have the "day out" for the whole family.
It's all now undercut by on-line sellers, low costs due to exploitation you even get free shipping from china 🤦🏻♂️ffs
Why shop local when they are often more expensive?
Brilliant thank you for publishing. Absolutely right. This started with Thatcher. The criminal economics behaviour over North sea oil and gas. Look at Norway (it kept control) with the biggest sovereign fund in the world. Funding health care, social projects and infrastructure, early retirement, and re investment. (Some of which is foreign investment) That is what a real Government does looking forward to the future. We need to look at all solutions in this complex issue and be brave to take radical steps. Not put up with big businesses or the media interference. Greetings from Bridlington. 😊
One of the elephants in the room with the economy is commercial rent prices. A very small amount of people own the vast majority of commercial properties-and they would rather see them empty than drop the rents. Rent control is the only way to make small retail businesses viable.
The one thing that boils my pee and you nearly touched on it is how holidays crank up the prices in school holidays, I bring this up all the time at my brothers bbq's, families who are already struggling have to pay upto and exceeding £1000 more for a school holiday break is insane, you want to boost UK holiday industry, there's your solution and that would seriously hit the foreign holidays, if these places want to capitalise on school holidays put up the prices of beer, food and toys, don't take the pee just take a tiny advantage, the amount of folk who start coming will balance the books
Nope, during the holidays they are booked out. Outside the holidays they are bankrupt. These businesses are not surviving. You see hotels on TV trying to make it work, they need to work all the hours possible and provide the best of service to get any customers. In the end, a holiday is not a necessity, but a luxury. If you can afford luxury then why not go somewhere warmer?
Or parents are taking there kids out of school to go on holiday missing valuable lessons.
But can you blame them if you want to gift your child that holiday to Disney
Around me the high street seems to have mostly turned into escape rooms restaurants and cafes. A few shops are still holding on but not in the shopping centre. But it’s way better than when I travel further afield and everything is closed or as described here.
I live in Hartlepool in the North East and it's simultaneously the most beautiful and depressing place to live. The actual high street (Church Street) is full of boarded up shops, prostitutes, and general vandalism damage. The sort of "replacement" high street is the typical repetition of cafe, takeaway, vape shop, bookies, off licence and theres also a library that's hanging on for dear life. Not to mention the slightly absurd amount of bus stops,meaning the pavement is always blocked.
This town used to rely on tourism, mostly to the two naval museums but it seems most people aren't interested in that sort if thing anymore so one of them (Heugh Battery up at the Headland) is not far from closing down and the other one, housing the 2nd oldest ship still afloat, isn't fairing much better. Neighbouring Seaton Carew is suffering as well since at least half of the shops on the seafront are out of business.
Its quite a miserable place to live honestly, burnt out husks of buildings, smashed in windows, boarded up shops, drugs and alcohol everywhere thanks to the lack of coppers, its basically been left to fend for itself by this traitorous government.
Ask the locals why they voted in a Tory MP 'because the Tories bring in foodbanks'!
@@normanchristie4524 "because I don't like Jeremy Corbyn." Seems to be a popular answer.
People don't realise they're voting for the party not the person
It's not just tourists that are needed, you need to convince locals to go back to their towns by offering them experiences that they can't get by sitting at home. I like the idea of live events.
Back in the 80's Saturdays were the day you'd go to town. You'd walk around the town center and it would be heaving. Go into WHsmiths and look at the games and magazines, Woolworths for the pick and mix, maybe a record. How times change.
We could tax Amazon and the likes to help fund town centre regeneration. So many retailers have gone from our town centres, accelerating town-centre decline. 'Centres of creativity' as mentioned by others who have commented.
Good comment Van Man! My brother lives in Clacton. He's OK in his middle class neighbourhood but the town as a whole has gone into decline over the last 30 years. Crime has gone up in this once sleepy little town. Its getting hard to buy anything there now and you have to go to Colchester to get a decent range of stores. And of course it voted overwhelmingly for Brexit out of despair, though my bro voted remain! Brighton by contrast is rich because its effectively a satellite of London in the rich South East. Clacton needs huge investment but its the end of the line literally.
Increase of residentual conversions, increase live in population. End business tax for small high street shops and businesses but introduce council tax. Cafes, bakeries, fitness and dance studios all have a place if there is equal billing for high street residents, their visitors and friends.
Just like in the old days!!!
Town centres exist on a model that's 20 years out of date, charging high rents/rates for shops and appartments, high parking charges, and still allowing out of town retail parks, and allowing shopping malls that suck the life out of the rest of the town. There are still shops that work better as physical shops. Clothes shopping is pretty awful online, or anything where you want to browse the goods because you don't know exactly what you want. Town centres need to be more compact, have more people live there, and be affordable.
Glad you mentioned my home town of Worthing. Lived here all life of 55 years it's an utter dump compared to what it used. There's only one independent clothes shop for men. I urge you to take a look at the guildbourne centre to see what it's become. How much has online shopping got to do the demise if the high plus the parking charges on top of that 14 years of the Tories hasn't helped with all the cut backs to council funding
In Sheffield there's at least five community food halls I can think of and they are replacing part of the market in my town of Rotherham with something similar plus a new entertainment area with an Arc Cinema, hotel and local food retailers called Forge Island. There are no major chain stores left in the town centre only Tesco, B&M, Home Bargains, the vape shops, nail bars, turkish barbers, and eastern food shops. The only nice bit is the historic High Street at the back of the historic minster which has some excellent independent shops but not enough to attract people to the town. Oh and the new football stadium is near the town centre which also helps. Everything else has moved to Meadowhall or Parkgate Retail Park in the last 25 years. In its heyday Rotherham had a C&A... Unfortunately councils have their hands tied behind their backs with government set business rates. Any subsidy has to come out of local funding.
Mansfield Vape bar, Nail bar, Charity shop, Turkish barbers, Shop closed, Vape shop, Charity shop, Nail bar, Polish barbers, Shop closed, Need i go on?
Main problem is business rates..
This is similar to council taxes but for shops etc.
Some smaller places are exempt whereas even a slightly larger shop will attract tens of thousands in business rates.
You could give tax breaks to in person stores and raise tax for online purchases
It's fallen Country.. And still holds 4th largest economy in the world.. Hard to connect fallen and high economy.
Good evening, another great drive.
Watch Ken’ Loaches Old Oak, very insightful and depicting the erosion of towns and communities.
Desolation and deprivation.
Admittedly an added issue in the story, yet it is a reflection of decline and a complete lack of interest for communities.
What Brighton did with the lanes why don't councils offer local people to fill these shops cheaply until they get on their feet allow them to employ people and bring the towns back there's plenty of little markets with great ideas and products 😎👍
I love the 2nd hand clothes stores in the lanes, perfect for students they love them.
The lanes mainly survive through the huge summer tourist trade that Brighton attracts
When you can fly to Spain for £40 return, British Coastal towns simply cannot compete unless they start to fix on some sort of historical aspect to draw in tourists.
Arthurian legend for the South West, Viking conquests for the North East, the age of Steam and the birth of Industrialisation for the north west and the destruction of the country for the tory voting South East!
Especially when a train ticket from London to Clacton is £40
Online shopping did it, I’m from Torquay everyone gives it shit but it’s honestly the most beautiful town centre well anything from harbour side if you go away from the harbour it gets worse but since the conservative council got in power last year allot of improvements are finally underway since the Lib Dem’s took over.
Torquay is BEAUTIFUL, my brother worked at Trago Mills for one year in the early 90's and I visited him, flying from France to Heathrow, then my brother picked us up at Exeter train station. Sadly I am unsure EU students would easily get a job in England those days? I am guessing employers probably have to rely on folks further afield, outside the EU. I was in Belfast the other day and was told so.
Dont try to save something that's way past its sell by date. We need something new to fit our lives as they're lived now. Community hubs, gardens and markets etc
Completely agree
Part of this is because of the priority given to big corporate entities and the moves towards the cashless society, strangling smaller family owned and run businesses, both here in this socially deprived area of Manchester where I’ve lived 22 years, on top of 30 years in supermarket retailing and in my home village in my native Republic of Ireland where I still have extended family - I’ve seen massive changes in the last 4 years alone, my last visit home to Ireland being in October 2022 and I have been horrified by what I’ve seen - I’d been made redundant from one major U.K. supermarket after 17 years in 2019
UK now reminds me of the southern USA when I first visited decades ago: downtown was dead or derelict, shopping was in malls which require a car to get to. Anyone car-less person had to walk along the highway in the baking sun. The money isn't gone, it has disappeared into another pocket from that of the average Joe.
What for? Living in the yonks past days gone by . We have far far better on the horizon .
High streets are gone, forget about them, we’re not going back to that mode of shopping anymore.
Someone else suggested turning them into centres for the community. Library’s, workshops, training centres, craft shops, evolution not devolution.