Whats happening to Hillsborough? It's like a ghost town.

[Skippy06 10]

They are refurbished old shops, with flats above,on the left,just before you get to the traffic lights, and just before Hillsborough corner. Cant see anyone taking them though.

 

You mean the new ones on Holme Lane which so far look to be at the moment a rip off mortgage brokers (one of the ones that look like cheques cashed).

 

pp is right Home Bargins was infact a Kwick Save before Home Bargins and Safway before that (Kwick Save was where Dunelm is now before that) also Wilkos was a TESCO about 15/20 years ago.

 

The problem with Hillsborough is parking, and the lack of chioce. Like I said before I go down everyweek but hate Morrisons so get most of my shopping at ASDA (Clothes, Food, Electrical) I can park the car and take my trolly for everything without having to cart bags loaded with shopping from one end of Hillsborough to the other.

[pattricia 574]

You mean the new ones on Holme Lane which so far look to be at the moment a rip off mortgage brokers (one of the ones that look like cheques cashed).

 

pp is right Home Bargins was infact a Kwick Save before Home Bargins and Safway before that (Kwick Save was where Dunelm is now before that) also Wilkos was a TESCO about 15/20 years ago.

 

The problem with Hillsborough is parking, and the lack of chioce. Like I said before I go down everyweek but hate Morrisons so get most of my shopping at ASDA (Clothes, Food, Electrical) I can park the car and take my trolly for everything without having to cart bags loaded with shopping from one end of Hillsborough to the other.

 

Yes, they are on Holme Lane.They were originally shops some years ago. Dont know when the full block will be finally finished,as its been like that for years.We must have more estate agents in Hillsborough than any other area.

[metalman 21]

By the sound of it from another thread, the Co-op will be shutting soon as well, so that will be yet another nail in the coffin of Hillsborough.

 

As I've pointed out before when the Hillsborough Forum people say what a wonderful place it is, we don't see these type of threads about other comparable suburbs like Crookes, Woodseats etc., only about Hillsborough. This indicates something is badly wrong in my view, though others don't seem to see it. And as jomarch implies, the real decline started when the tram was being put in and the area has never been the same since.

[The Manager 12]

By the sound of it from another thread, the Co-op will be shutting soon as well, so that will be yet another nail in the coffin of Hillsborough.

 

As I've pointed out before when the Hillsborough Forum people say what a wonderful place it is, we don't see these type of threads about other comparable suburbs like Crookes, Woodseats etc., only about Hillsborough. This indicates something is badly wrong in my view, though others don't seem to see it. And as jomarch implies, the real decline started when the tram was being put in and the area has never been the same since.

 

I have to agree with you hillsborough has been going down hill for a very long time , alot of the ""do gooders "" dont seem to see hillsborough going like the thread says a " ghost town"

[Ms Macbeth 73]

I'm a relative newcomer to the area, and much as I like living here, I find it quite an odd mix. I rarely shop at Morrisons, but I wonder if the Barracks centre was somewhere else, it would be thriving - it has such potential.

 

I'd agree with

House prices have risen over the past few years in Hillsborough and there has been an increase in professional people moving into the area - but the shops don't seem to reflect this. Fast food chains like subway have moved in, but added nothing to the feel of the area, except to give the impression no one buys or cooks fresh food around here.

 

I think that like most people I use the small shops just when necessary, I don't consider a walk into Hillsborough to be a particularly pleasant or an interesting shopping experience - I prefer to go up to Crookes for that! I'm not sure that the majority of local shoppers even live here - lots of people seem to come in from surrounding areas. I suppose we get the shops that show a profit - Jack Fulton/Farmfoods type shops seem to do ok. Mann's however, and some of the butchers do attract people from other parts of Sheffield who like quality food.

 

Also, Hillsborough rarely attracts public funding for any projects as the area is not classed as 'poor' - so why doesn't the centre reflect this? I don't think its all to do with the tram, although I suppose that its made it so easy to get into town without the hassle of parking that people choose to shop at John Lewis, Debenhams and M&S etc.

[muddycoffee 10]

Yes, they are on Holme Lane.They were originally shops some years ago. Dont know when the full block will be finally finished,as its been like that for years.We must have more estate agents in Hillsborough than any other area.

 

If you have a peak at the start of my hillsborough corner to owlerton video you can see all these "new" shops, all in a row with their gray shutters down.

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ZgImkJRf4

 

The video starts in front of the Pub at the bottom od Walkley lane looking right at these shops. It was filmed last Sunday ( 6th Jan 2008 )

[Hills Forum 10]

As I've pointed out before when the Hillsborough Forum people say what a wonderful place it is, we don't see these type of threads about other comparable suburbs like Crookes, Woodseats etc., only about Hillsborough. This indicates something is badly wrong in my view, though others don't seem to see it.

 

Without a doubt we at Hillsborough Forum say that is a great place:

1. It has a lot to offer in terms of leisure opportunities:

Hillsborough Park and Walled Garden, Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Hillsborough Sports Arena, Owlerton Stadium, local sports clubs at 393 and Burton Street to name a few (I dare not mention SWFC for fear of offending as many as I please).

2. It has, as has been pointed out, some excellent quality food shopping where fresh fish, meat and vegetables can be bought (in some cases unrivalled in at least the whole of North Sheffield).

3. A new built FE college providing opportunities for many 16+ students that did not have that local opportunity previously.

4. It has a flourishing housing market, with no shortage of buyers wanting to move into the area.

 

BUT we would not deny the challenges that also exist ..... in fact that is why the Forum, in consultation with local businesses, residents and community groups worked hard last year to produce and publish "A Strategy for Hillsborough Town Centre".

We are trying to ensure the strategy is fully adopted by the City Council and so inform future planning and investment oppotunities.

 

If you want to read the strategy you can see at the Forum website, follow the link below.

 

What I really wish is that alongside the genuine concerns and grumbles, people also put forward their praises for the area, and ideas for making Hillsborough an even better place to live in the future. Hillsborough may have the appearance of a ghost at times, but it is not dead ...... it needs resurrecting, and new life breathing into it..... let those of us who care get positively behind Hillsborough.

[Alastair 12]

I visited these shops about 10 years ago and was shocked to find that apart from the Cupola art gallery, almost all of them had changed into fast food outlets and all the people walking about were all obese.

 

This was a massive change since 1988 when I moved away from the area. I was utterly shocked at the people, the graffitti and what the shops had become..

 

That's one huge change that's happened all over Britain. If you could go back 20 years I reckon the people would look so much slimmer and healthier. I don't know what happened, but you never saw people walking along the pavement stuffing their faces before. It was one sight that used to shock visitors to America, now it's common here.

[theripsaw 10]

Traditional shoppers (basically old people) who go from butcher to baker to greengrocer are a dying breed. These are fast being replaced in the 'up and coming' Hillsborough area by younger people who prefer to shop at supermarkets. Its just the way it is.

Most younger people work 9-5 monday to friday. The only time they could visit the local shopping area when the shops are open is on a precious Saturday.

Given the option of walking/bussing/tramming it to the shops and lugging bag loads back again, facing the prospect of trying to find a parking space & paying for the pleasure, or the convenience of driving to the local supermarket, the choice is easy.

The shops that survive are night time businesses (take aways/restaurants), service providers - nail salons / hairdressers / estate agents, & charity shops who benefit from cheaper occupational costs.

[metalman 21]

I've read the strategy, and while it's all sensible stuff, there is, as far as I can see, nothing in the actual Action Plan which would encourage a new shop, or a different type of shop, to open up in Hillsborough. And it will take more than a hanging basket or two to encourage people from outside the area to go and do their shopping there - especially when many people's perception is that you can't find your way there in a car without attracting a £60 fine. The introduction of resident's parking permits, which the council seems intent on doing, will put people off even more.

 

I just wonder when the Co-op closes down, whether Woolworths and Boots will be far behind.

 

Incidentally I didn't know until I read the strategy that Morrison's top car park was for the use of people going into Hillsborough whereas the bottom one is for Morrison's customers only - is that correct? Do Morrisons know about it?

[Hills Forum 10]

I didn't know until I read the strategy that Morrison's top car park was for the use of people going into Hillsborough whereas the bottom one is for Morrison's customers only - is that correct? Do Morrisons know about it?

 

The flexible use of the top parking deck at Hillsborough Barracks was part of the original planning agreement with Morrissons. The Barracks themselves of course is NOT just Morrisons.

 

The Forum as an independent voluntary organisation does not have the resources to make investment into the neighbourhood of the scale that is needed, this is why we are actively persuing the strategys adoption by Sheffield City Council so that they can target investment through Planning Gain finance and other available streams to implement the strategy.

 

By residents and businesses making positive demands for the kind of changes they would like to see rather than simply pointing out the negative aspects of some present features,we are far more likely to bring about the investment that is needed, and bring new life into the area.

[sixxsix 10]

Although there are numerous problems facing Hillsborough shopping centre such as the state of the economy, local business rates, changing shopping patterns etc, by far the main problem is the ongoing traffic situation.