Support my local high street/shopping area, why?

[El Cid 212]

9 hours ago, ivan edake said:

Councils have bled motorists dry and are now reaping what they have sown.

 

Another person attacking their LOCAL council!

 

7 hours ago, woodmally said:

The problem with the local high street is its been run into the ground for a number of reasons:

1

My local High St can accommodate, maybe 15 parked cars, go to the local shopping center and that increases to 100.

You can double that 15 if people park in the side streets, but people don't like to park ANY distance away from the shops.

[craig12 10]

internet killed the high st , make all internet businesses pay a levy like a business rates charge, they'll soon close them down 

and where did they think they could have on line and the high street within the same company , so you want bingo on line ,hmmmm I wonder why the bingo halls are half empty ,  you couldn't write it could you 

Edited December 27, 2018 by craig12

[woodmally 10]

10 hours ago, nikki-red said:

These are all problems in the city centre, this thread is about peoples LOCAL high street/shopping area.
 

Well I think that the high street has the same issues to be honest just on a smaller scale. The Socialist dont work party were often seen outside the arcade in Hillsborough back in the day  I dont know if they still congregate around there.  Broomhill has a spice problem due to the posts I read on Facebook from the local police in the area and there is certainly begging in Broomhill.  So sadly I think the problems are the same. 

[spilldig 187]

11 hours ago, makapaka said:

That’s more like high street in town - not the local high street.

 

plus you don’t have to have a dig at left wing  politics on every thread - just saying.

High street in the city centre is my local High street .

[woodmally 10]

11 hours ago, makapaka said:

That’s more like high street in town - not the local high street.

 

plus you don’t have to have a dig at left wing  politics on every thread - just saying.

Firstly a lot of the problems highlighted are local high street problems too. Broomhill has a spice and wider drugs problem as the local police on their own facebook page often make comment on.   As for having a dig at leftwing politics. I dont have a problem with leftwing politics per say but the extreme Corbynite left that often protests and complains about everything.

 

Not a weekend went by when I was younger and the Socialist Workers Party was not outside Hillsborough Arcade complaining about something or other.   They are still complaining about the same thing and I'm 40  yet the real problems we face are being ignored.   We have rising crime and theft in our high streets yet they blame lack of resources in the police yet dont blame the parents of these scroats who dont give them any discipline. And when the police do catch them they get let off with ridiculous sentences. 

 

Then shall we mention the sales people and chuggers that frequent every high street.   Such as this for example.  And who licences these people ah yes the Labour run council. 

 

Instead of tackling the problems that the high streets do have that prevent people from coming they are too busy complaining about issues that do not impact on us. 

[ez8004 10]

If the high st cannot adapt then its their fault. Failing business models should be allowed to fail and do not deserve saving. The same could be said about many other industries unless there is an obvious national interest issue. The local butchers closing for example, isn’t one of them. 

[woodmally 10]

13 minutes ago, ez8004 said:

If the high st cannot adapt then its their fault. Failing business models should be allowed to fail and do not deserve saving. The same could be said about many other industries unless there is an obvious national interest issue. The local butchers closing for example, isn’t one of them. 

But its not all high street shops fault though. Many people are sick of going into the high street because of the hassle of getting there.  Car Parking, Begging, Drug Problems, Crime Charities and sales people.  All of which are in the control of the council, police and other services.  The shops have no influence over those.  People have often said that they dont go to Sheffield City Centre now because of the above and these problems dont just stay in the City Centre.  Broomhill has a spice and begging problem.   Hillsborough Arcade has a problem with sales people hassling shoppers.  How can shops deal with something that is beyond them.

Edited December 27, 2018 by woodmally

[woodview 10]

15 hours ago, ivan edake said:

For the past few weeks every time I have watched TV adverts there has been a group of people singing "support your local High Street". The Yorkshire weatherman has advised me to do the same,as has all of the National Newspapers.Why should I bother  when councils all over the country have done their best to deter me from doing this? No matter where you go there are never enough parking spaces.If you can find one you will be charged an obscene fee ,and woe betide you if you are back a few minutes late,you will collect a parking ticket,usually from an obnoxious jobsworthy, but it can be via the post, and it will cost you around a ton. Councils have bled motorists dry and are now reaping what they have sown.Sensible people have given up on town centre shopping and it will take a lot more than a few songs or adverts to bring it back.

Good plan. Make life harder for the local people who are teying to run a local business, employing local people, because you've got a chip on your shoulder about the council. 

Well thought through.

Merry Christmas, I hope hope small minded angry people don't boycott your employer based on an irrelevant grudge.

[woodmally 10]

35 minutes ago, woodview said:

Good plan. Make life harder for the local people who are teying to run a local business, employing local people, because you've got a chip on your shoulder about the council. 

Well thought through.

Merry Christmas, I hope hope small minded angry people don't boycott your employer based on an irrelevant grudge.

The poster does have a point though.  Like I said in my post its all well and good saying support your local high street when councils and authorities have it within their gift to make the high street bearable. Be it from dealing with the private companies on some cowboy racket with parking (there is loads of examples of this) to the persistant sales people and charity collectors outside. If shopping was pleasent then this poster and many others would go to the high street. Its not hard to do. In fact many of the problems including parking is licenced through the council.

[apelike 10]

1 hour ago, ez8004 said:

If the high st cannot adapt then its their fault. Failing business models should be allowed to fail and do not deserve saving. The same could be said about many other industries unless there is an obvious national interest issue. The local butchers closing for example, isn’t one of them. 

Have to agree on this as they will have to get with the times as now its become more popular and in many cases cheaper to buy online with free delivery in most cases. I think its called progress and if you dont adapt then you die.

[woodview 10]

5 minutes ago, apelike said:

Have to agree on this as they will have to get with the times as now its become more popular and in many cases cheaper to buy online with free delivery in most cases. I think its called progress and if you dont adapt then you die.

It is cheaper to buy online, as they dont have the same premises and staffing costs, and can run on much lower margins. To compete, a local shop does have to offer something different, based on customer service, experience, knowledge etc. I just disagree with the 'why should I ' sentiment based on something outside the shopkeepers control.

[Anna B 1,401]

4 hours ago, ez8004 said:

If the high st cannot adapt then its their fault. Failing business models should be allowed to fail and do not deserve saving. The same could be said about many other industries unless there is an obvious national interest issue. The local butchers closing for example, isn’t one of them. 

Don't you think it is a National interest issue? This isn't just the odd high street, but most high streets that are struggling, and they employ many thousands of people nationwide.

 

Sure, times are changing and many people prefer to shop online these days, but surely contingency plans have to be put in place to allow for changes to a society that has traded face to face locally for thousands of years.  The elderly, for example, may need extra help, what's going to be done with the empty premises, and councils will suffer from the shortfall in business rates.

 

Change is happening very fast across the board, and I really haven't heard much about anyone getting to grips with it.