I like the metro centre. I prefer it over going into Newcastle.
New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
Nails shops
Charity shops
Chicken shops
A London high street
Charity shops
Chicken shops
A London high street
I dont rarely set foot in Wilko now. My local high street is split in 2 since a few big shops that were big on it went (Debenhams, Topshop and BHS) and its in a shopping centre that can only be described as an undercover market now. Gone are the good shops and replaced with stores selling clothes Kat Slater would be proud of. The other end of the high street has 2 shopping areas which have a good choice of well known stores so I was surprised our Wilko wasn’t on the list.
There is also a market on the high street but the prices are absurd! £3.50 for a loaf of Bread
We love Home Bargains and do a monthly shop for all our toiletries, cleaning stuff and other bits (our B&M is a dump and the choice in HB is better and cheaper) It’s on a retail park and free to park. I also prefer shopping centres (Bluewater is my favorite locally) Free parking, easy to get to and well laid out.
There is also a market on the high street but the prices are absurd! £3.50 for a loaf of Bread
We love Home Bargains and do a monthly shop for all our toiletries, cleaning stuff and other bits (our B&M is a dump and the choice in HB is better and cheaper) It’s on a retail park and free to park. I also prefer shopping centres (Bluewater is my favorite locally) Free parking, easy to get to and well laid out.
Last edited:
Bluewater would be my nearest big shopping centre.
Bromley is rubbish
Bromley is rubbish
Wilko is good for paint and DIY bits and pieces. They often do good offers on Dulux for around £13 a tin.. Even at their full price it is way cheaper than Homebase.
I had a Christmas job there once and it was the easiest/chilled place I’ve ever worked
I had a Christmas job there once and it was the easiest/chilled place I’ve ever worked
My local city centre is terrible now. In the past few years so many places have shut down. Debenhams, Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Anne Summers, Gap, The Body Shop, Argos, Accessorize, Monsoon, Claire's Accessories, and many more.
The only long term shops left now are Primark, Superdrug and Boots. The rest of the place is just pound shops, phone shops, vape shops, barbers and kebab takeaways
The only long term shops left now are Primark, Superdrug and Boots. The rest of the place is just pound shops, phone shops, vape shops, barbers and kebab takeaways
Last edited:
I think the high street has been in such a decline over the years due to online shopping and bigger out of town retail parks… that the covid lockdowns just killed it off…
my local high street is bloody awful. Stinking dirty, wall-to-wall vape shops, travel agents, barbers, off-licenses, phone shops and takeaways. We have a market but I can see that going soon too as it’s only a certain/older age group that use it - my age group (early 20s) only use it to walk through or for the toilet.
my local high street is bloody awful. Stinking dirty, wall-to-wall vape shops, travel agents, barbers, off-licenses, phone shops and takeaways. We have a market but I can see that going soon too as it’s only a certain/older age group that use it - my age group (early 20s) only use it to walk through or for the toilet.
The rural areas outside of Paris (where I live when not at university in Manchester) has similar problems with out of town malls. But I think Paris itself is coping well with its high street stores.
The issues with high street stores in England probably include the convenience of online shopping and supermarket home delivery. Also the congestion charges and parking charges in some towns are expensive for customers. Public transport is sometimes packed and perhaps not safe during Covid. Also driving into the town centre means using more fuel and petrol is expensive now.
Shops also face high rents and business rates I think. And I think more will go out of business when energy prices rise badly in April after the removal of latest price cap.
A lot of people will have less money to spend when after paying their bills. So want better value at cheaper prices. I think online shopping is a better option in that case.
The issues with high street stores in England probably include the convenience of online shopping and supermarket home delivery. Also the congestion charges and parking charges in some towns are expensive for customers. Public transport is sometimes packed and perhaps not safe during Covid. Also driving into the town centre means using more fuel and petrol is expensive now.
Shops also face high rents and business rates I think. And I think more will go out of business when energy prices rise badly in April after the removal of latest price cap.
A lot of people will have less money to spend when after paying their bills. So want better value at cheaper prices. I think online shopping is a better option in that case.
And estate agents.
Bromley Primark is huge (I'm not a fan of the Primark at Bluewater), and it's still got a good range of shops but parking is so expensive I think most people just go to Bluewater. A lot of the big offices in Bromley (mine included) are now mostly or entirely WFH so that must have affected trade (I would pop to the shops at least one lunchtime a week).
Sad to see Wilko go, although last time I went to the Orpington branch half the shelves were empty, it felt like they were running it down compared to a couple of years ago. I was surprised that Swanley Wilko wasn't on the list as that one is even worse.
I’m in a small town, wouldn’t exactly call what we have a high street more like just a rubbish town centre. The Debenhams closed down, there is a Beales, just random market type clothes shops that close down every few months then open up again, a Primark, a New Look, TK Max, loads of pound and bargain shops that also open and close again…. It’s rubbish. Our closest city is Liverpool and that’s not much better either, quite a few empty shops in their city centre too
I haven't been to my local high street in ages. I find it much easier to go to the retail parks slightly outside of town, where there's free parking and a good variety of shops! I did venture into the high street just before christmas and it seemed like every other shop was empty with a "to let" sign outside. There's 1 clothes shop, New Look, a Savers, Superdrug, Boots, Wilko, Card Factory and WH Smith. The rest are charity shops or pop up shops that last a month or so. It's crap.
Although. If they close my local Wilko I'll be fuming cos when the Pick n Mix is on half price I go there loads
Although. If they close my local Wilko I'll be fuming cos when the Pick n Mix is on half price I go there loads
I like wilko own brand paint . The essence nail varnishes good tooWilko is good for paint and DIY bits and pieces. They often do good offers on Dulux for around £13 a tin.. Even at their full price it is way cheaper than Homebase.
I had a Christmas job there once and it was the easiest/chilled place I’ve ever worked
I can’t even see coffee shops having a reason to stay open if more people are working from home and less are in the office, it’s not worth paying the rent on the property if you’re barely covering it with the daily lunchtime office workers footfall.
Depends where you are. I owned 1 5 years ago and didn't depend on office workers.
Our local card shop has just closed and they’ve blasted having a Card Factory close by since before it even opened. I know people say to support local blah blah but to me supporting our local branded stores is just as important. The small card shop hasn’t been updated in forever, their cards were expensive and they just don’t have the things that Card Factory do. People also hate our local supermarket with a vengeance. We don’t have a fruit/veg shop or bakery etc and you can’t buy essentials in a hairdressers so I’m not sure what they want people to do but they are hell bent on wanting it closed.
I think Pret have closed a few stores since covid, I'm surprised that so many are still open though. They've tried a subscription thing aimed at workers. So many places must be heavily reliant on office workers that a small drop would wipe out any profit.
The lounges were doing really well before covid and expanded very quickly. They've got a good inclusive menu that can be served pretty quickly. I wonder how they're doing since covid?
The lounges were doing really well before covid and expanded very quickly. They've got a good inclusive menu that can be served pretty quickly. I wonder how they're doing since covid?
Interesting, because I've often heard the UK singled out at being particularly bad with their shorterm-ism to build the out of town places. You'd have thought France would be more careful with their resistance to change and generally more protections.
My brother and SIL live in Ireland and it's really really bad there. Lots of retail parks and shopping centres in the suburbs and the cities and large towns are getting to be non existent.
They live in Co Kerry. Cork city and Limerick city would be their nearest two and the main streets in both have empty buildings and closed down shops everywhere. Limerick is particularly bad.
Killarney and Tralee are the two main towns in Kerry and they don't seem to be as bad as Limerick or Cork, although Killarney is a big draw for tourist so is always quite busy as is Dingle which is quite close to where my Brother and SIL live.
I think at this stage it's a worldwide problem sadly
They'll probably go online and pay staff to post the items. I'm sure they'll adapt someway.Beginning of the end
High streets have been declining for 15 years at least. The process has sped up due to corona and online shopping.
As a fan of high Street shopping, like many, seeing it as a hobby almost I want high Street shops to continue but nothing ever does and so it must be.
The future high street will probably be social, green spaces, maybe glass domed with eateries and be really nice and relaxing maybe with free gym spaces etc, maybe fish ponds. I think that's something to look forward to. It's actually quite exciting to see how they'll improve.
I used to be almost deafened going from my nice and quiet home in the country to a busy traffic filled high Street.
People, places, business all adapt
Last edited:
The High Street will die, only if people allow it to. I can't help feeling that some of these closures, are part of the plan for a cashless society in Britain. People are being forced to shop on line.
If you walk down Oxford street there are about 10+ candy shops.