More than one in six Colchester shops are empty, a new survey has revealed.You know, I just can’t think what could have caused this. It’s almost like Colchester Council isn’t successful at welcoming and keeping businesses, isn’t it?
The Local Data Company has revealed that at the end of 2010, 15.8 per cent of the retail premises in Colchester were empty, up 4.6 per cent on the previous year.
Monday 21 February 2011
Well, I Couldn’t Be More Shocked…
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4 comments:
Dunno about Colchester but an ionteresting story via your links.
Now and again they publish photos of the Fleet Walk shopping center in Torquay, showing the top level half empty except for scented candle shops and charities. They do this to show how bad the recession is, and soon will blame it on the The Cuts.
In fact the place has never been remotely fully occupied because it is way too big for Torbay and there is nowhere to park anywhere near it. A combination of developer greed and Council Anti-Carism.
Another thing I have noticed in my travels round and about is that council's are anti car. They seem to make its as difficult and expensive to park as possible. And then wonder why we all go to out of town shopping centers and hypermarkets!
My home town is the same.
I won't name it, but it's in South West Scotland had only three letters in its name...
You can't drive along the High Street; they keep lowering the speed limits on all the approach roads; they keep increasing the car parking charges; every time you go into town there are more speedbumps and more traffic lights where none was needed before.
And then they (the very same they who do all the above) wail and lament and rend their garments - "why is our town full of charity shops? Why are there so many empty premises? Why does nobody come?"
Amazing really.
Well, not all that amazing...
"In fact the place has never been remotely fully occupied because it is way too big for Torbay and there is nowhere to park anywhere near it."
Interestingly, the Victoria shopping centre in Southend was recently 'improved' at vast expense, with the addition of a roof.
The rents were raised, all the interesting little shops were forced out for the duration - many never returning after completion - and now the place is more than half empty.
It's handy for travel (a big multi-story next door, plus the train station), so that can't be a factor here...
" They seem to make its as difficult and expensive to park as possible."
It's expensive in Southend (where isn't?) but there's plenty of it. Yet it hasn't made a difference to the Victoria. So some other factor must be involved. But what?
"You can't drive along the High Street; they keep lowering the speed limits on all the approach roads; they keep increasing the car parking charges; every time you go into town there are more speedbumps and more traffic lights where none was needed before."
Now, THAT sounds like Southend as it currently is!
But the Victoria was half-empty long before that all began.
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