Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
From https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/eu-referendum-the-result-and-aftermath.132044/page-417
I don't think town centres can be saved in their present form. After all, out of town supermarkets and Amazon etc have taken a massive bite out of the kind of shopping that used to be done there, while the citizens of Bolton might well enjoy a Saturday out to Manchester or the Trafford Centre (not by Northern train of course!) if they do want a fix of chain store shopping.
To me, the future of small to medium town centres would be a mixture of residential, entertainment (both involving alcohol and not) and small shops, plus perhaps the likes of Tesco Express, Budgens, Sainsburys Local etc for those living there to walk to. But that will need a big shift in terms of reducing rents (and creating smaller premises) to allow such small businesses to set up and thrive.
The funny thing is that this is what the "local centres" in London are by and large already like.
And leaving the EU will HELP to recover our town centres? Brexit won't, a Tory government won't, a Labour government probably won't, I don't think even Thunderbirds can save our towns. But as long as Rees-Mogg and his mates spend, spend and more spend in Harrods then that's fine, I suppose.
I don't think town centres can be saved in their present form. After all, out of town supermarkets and Amazon etc have taken a massive bite out of the kind of shopping that used to be done there, while the citizens of Bolton might well enjoy a Saturday out to Manchester or the Trafford Centre (not by Northern train of course!) if they do want a fix of chain store shopping.
To me, the future of small to medium town centres would be a mixture of residential, entertainment (both involving alcohol and not) and small shops, plus perhaps the likes of Tesco Express, Budgens, Sainsburys Local etc for those living there to walk to. But that will need a big shift in terms of reducing rents (and creating smaller premises) to allow such small businesses to set up and thrive.
The funny thing is that this is what the "local centres" in London are by and large already like.