Shopping in Hillsborough

[Troy]

I live in Hillsborough and am growing increasingly dismayed by the state of shopping in Hillsborough. I've lived here for years and don't remember seeing so many vacant retail premises. No one can accuse Hillsborough of being short of Opticians, Estate Agents and Hair/Tanning/Nail Salons (how many do we need?!), but there is little else to encourage a good browse around the shops.

 

I also feel that the majority of shops are geared towards the lower end of the market and I can see why to some extent, but that doesn't necessarily reflect the changing demographic residence of Hillsborough. Most of the people I know who live in Hillsborough are young(ish) professionals - all my neighbours are. Hillsborough is no longer a cheap place to buy a house and it seems to me that there are lots of people living in Hillsborough with money to spend but they have to go into town or Meadowhell to spend it. Wouldn't it be better to see this money being spent locally - and more convenient. Personally, I would like to see some decent shops in Hillsborough and those empty premises filled before it starts to feel like a ghost town.

 

What do other people think - and what sort of shops would you like to see in Hillsborough?

[orangejim]

i'd like to see the xmas shop thats just opened in the co-op closed that would make me spend way more money in there

[NEKRO138]

I went to get some trainers from Hillsborough the other day, and there was no shops that sold em! I had to go to Wynsors.

 

When I was a kid, I could get a pair of trainers from Hillsborough easy.

[sccsux]

Hillsborough was decimated when the tram was being built.

 

Since the tram was put into operation other businesses have gone that relied on passing trade (mainly due to the tram imposed restrictions).

 

Hillsborough (as a shopping area) has been dying a slow death for the last ten years:(.

[pitsmoorlad]

Hillsborough (as a shopping area) has been dying a slow death for the last ten years:(.

 

I told a local concillor that very thing thing a few years back, but she said that hillsborough shops would benefit significantly from the tram. When I asked why, considering that they were sending traffic away she mumbled something about all the people on the trams who would suddenly realise that they needed something as they passed the shops. (She was a Labour Councillor by the way).

[Daven]

I agree, the tram rang the death nell for Hillsborough.

[xchubbs1987x]

I told a local concillor that very thing thing a few years back, but she said that hillsborough shops would benefit significantly from the tram. When I asked why, considering that they were sending traffic away she mumbled something about all the people on the trams who would suddenly realise that they needed something as they passed the shops. (She was a Labour Councillor by the way).

 

^^ that blue bit says it all

[Troy]

I went to get some trainers from Hillsborough the other day, and there was no shops that sold em! I had to go to Wynsors.

 

When I was a kid, I could get a pair of trainers from Hillsborough easy.

 

What was that sports shop that used to be where there's yet another flippin optician's now - was it Suggs? A lot of people I talk to used to go there regularly and now miss it.

 

 

Hillsborough was decimated when the tram was being built.

 

Since the tram was put into operation other businesses have gone that relied on passing trade (mainly due to the tram imposed restrictions).

 

Hillsborough (as a shopping area) has been dying a slow death for the last ten years:(.

 

But is it too late to reverse the decline? Hillsborough's seen a real property boom over recent years - there must be a demand for better local amenities from the residents. Ok the tram caused a lot of damage to trade during the early years, but can't the tram now be seen as an advantage for shopping there?

 

I don't think it's too late - I think if one or two good shops opened up raising the profile of the area, others would follow. I think the owners of the empty premised need to get realistic though. On Channel 4's 'Risking it All' two hairdressers from Woodseats looked into renting the Greenwoods shop to open a second salon, the price was £28,000 per year. I know it's double-fronted and in a prime position but that's ridiculous. It'll stand empty for years at that price.

 

I'm really interested to find out what sort of shops people think would inject new life into Hillsborough - any suggestions?

[Bilge]

It should be far better than it is. One problem is the bloke who owns a lot of the property lets them stand decaying and empty. At the Corner this makes things seem far worse than they are (lots of threads on this).

 

Hillsbro is still the only real town centre-type place within Sheffield (apart from town itself), so it's better than a lot of areas in that respect and still has a lot of shops when you tot them all up. But this also means the empty places stand out more as there are so many more shop units overall.

 

What other area is better? Ecclesall Rd is not really one area in the same sense. Woodseats or Crookes are no better.

 

The thing is, what other shops could Hillsborough sustain that aren't already there? Record shops are nice but the last one closed down as they are struggling with the internet competition these days (see also Rare and Racy and Record Collector which are in better locations you might think).

 

Bookshops ditto.

 

Nice coffee bars? Yes they would be nice. But although the immediate area is not that cheap to buy in any more, a lot of Hillsbro shoppers are from the surrounding estates so it's not all that affluent overall.

[Greybeard]

Definitely tram blight. Hillsborough had a real buzz before they started on the tram.