B&M, Wilko, Lloyds Pharm, Budgens, Iceland, Boots, House of Fraser, B&Q, Iceland, Paperchase

[motorbiking]

I would say it’s a general decline of the high street. The end of the covid/post covid shopping/diy boom and a move to buying on the internet. Combined with a work from home culture making it easy to receive online goods.

Not to mention people making cut backs.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Retail shops always existed, but they had a massive expansion during around 1950-2000. But they were only ever a transitional step from the little corner shops to the massive out of town megastores and online retailers that are now taking their place.

All those Woolworths, Debenhams etc that lots of people have fond memories of probably each bankrupted a number of independent shops that were wiped out by them at the time they opened. They had their time, now something even bigger is taking their place.

Sadly many seem to think that history began when they were born. These high street chain stores were just a blip in history, a stepping stone between what was and what will be.

These chain stores didn't actually provide much economic benefit anyway - they employed a few assistants but sold mostly imported products. They drain money from the shop location to its head office, this money never returns to where it came from.

Councils need to come up with new purposes for town centres, or probably just shrink them by allowing housing development into its outer edges.