This is what The "WORST" High Street in Britain Looks Like... Abandoned UK Ghost Town
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- Опубліковано 3 тра 2024
- In the South of England, lies a Town Centre named as one of the Worst UK High Streets, referred to by many as a Ghost Town and described by a National Tabloid as a "Zombie Apocalypse Town"... Welcome to Waterlooville, in the county of Hampshire. What I Found in this Dying UK Town was shocking. The majority of the town centre is rows of closed, boarded up and abandoned shops. The place felt like a ghost town. Sadly, I think this may be one of the worst high streets that I have seen on my travels across the UK. In the centre of the town is an Abandoned Shopping Centre that for years has lay unused, the units within this Abandoned Place are literally rotting from the inside! In this video I managed to Interview a number of locals including a shop keeper to find out what their opinions and thoughts are on what is happening to their town and other British High Streets in General... Are we witnessing the Death of the British High Street before our eyes?
#england #reallife #uk #ghosttown #britain #abandoned #depression #highstreet #poverty #streetinterview
National Headline: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12947513/amp/Welcome-zombie-apocalypse-town-Despairing-locals-claim-thriving-high-street-derelict-slew-closures-new-retail-park-opening-nearby-drove-shoppers-away.html
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These landlords charging expensive rents could drop the prices and get tenants but they'd rather get 100% of nothing.
You must be able to see it's by design now surely .... Much much MUCH higher forces at work here !
No, there is a much bigger agenda at play here. Things are being deliberately run down by design.
@@JAMES_IIIyep, this is a problem where I live, to the point the council decided to side skirt those landlords by encouraging markets a few times a week and bringing in a pop up shop every so often. It's not the solution but the council said that's the problem they've been trying to highlight but still the landlords would rather get nothing for years in hopes that someone will bite and pay their sky-high rents than to lower the price and always have a shop open.
The rents were easily affordable to well run businesses, until retail space was duplicated on the edge of town and trade fell to a few big brand names. It’s been the pattern everywhere.
@@GrenvilleBSthe end and ultimate goal of capitalism.
High overheads; rents, taxes, utilities, wages, cost of stock, struggling population and shoplifters equals no profits. End of business.
Like you said a combo of factors! Thanks for watching 👍🙏
Bang on.
You missed out the main reason..internet shopping.
@@mana3735You’re right, I hadn’t mentioned it because other people already had, but if you think about it online shopping has way less overhead costs when compared to brick and mortar businesses, but landlords, councils and central government never eased off on shops to make shops more competitive. Their decline became inevitable.
@@mrme364 True.
This country is finished.
That’s easy to say, what are your suggestions?
@@1CFcooper Maybe not vote for the party that made all this happen? Seems logical to me.
@@dittikke well, I certainly won’t vote for them! They brought us Brexit! 😱
@@dittikke If voting made any difference...you think they'd let you vote then?
You should vote Brexit. Vote to control our borders. Vote to get our sovereignty.
This is not my world anymore. I lived in England during the Thatcher era in both Hampshire & Dorset, but even then the High streets & shops were always busy. What a waste! I feel blessed to have lived & experienced the 'Real England'. Bring it back!❤
Thanks for sharing 🙏 and for watching. It's becoming a more and more frequent site! Thanks for watching 👍
Too true.....those spivs in power have ruined this once great country,little by little .....
Things change. They didn't have Internet shopping back then.
I lived in Hampshire 60 and 70s the high street was the place where everyone met up !
Too late.
The only way to save Britain's High Streets is to increase parking charges and business rates to ensure nobody wants to drive there and nobody can afford to set up a shop there. Also, make sure you keep rents high and retail units empty, rather than make them affordable. Well, thats what councils and landlords think is a recipe for success and who am I to question their wisdom?
To increase foot traffic you need people on foot. The USA use to be like Europe with all the little shops and public transport but when car ownership was encouraged and new roads built people stopped going to them and in fact GM actually made a video in the 50s to encourage roads being built and out of town shopping districts to be built that literally killed their high street and they turned them into car parks. High car ownership and people using the cars to drive up the road when it's walkable is part of why high streets are dying. In most of Europe these independent shops are still around because while there is car ownership majority of people walk or took public transport most of the time. There are science papers written on this and the data is not lying.
Heck in my town the high street is doing well, with markets attracting a lot of people and that happened because the council banned cars from the centre. It's very well documented that the more people drive the less likely they go into the town centre and instead go towards the big supermarkets and shopping centres.
Of course high car ownership and high car travel is not the entire reason why high streets are dying but it is a big part of it.
@@faequeenapril6921 I'm not sure I agree fully although I accept that restricting car use locally does improve the environment. Pedestrianising streets, discouraging car use and promnoting cycling has worked in places on the continent but the UK population is American in its mentality, not European, and very few people take kindly to anyone suggesting they don't need a two tonne machine to do the equivalent of a 10 minute walk.
@@adamlea6339 Exactly. The problem with public transport is that it costs quite a lot (at least in the UK). For example, at least £2-3 today one way. Let's say that's £5. If I own a car, then the fuel cost of driving 3-5 miles, plus back is about £1 (let's not care now about the depreciation of the car, I already have it and after 10 years will replace it anyway). Plus comfort and time. If I want to buy just something small I will take a car. If I want to buy something costing £10, then paying an extra £5 is a waste of money and it's cheaper to buy it online and get it delivered home. If I have to pay for parking I am also not going there. So would rather go to bigger shopping parks (if it's necessary to get it the same day) or would order it online (if it can wait). And a 10-minute walk would be fine. 30-60 minutes is not. I used to do more shopping in the past but now with all the parking fees and restrictions I will rather do online shopping or will go to car-friendly places.
Councils don’t set rents or rates. Apart from demonstrating your total lack of understanding, not a bad post 🤣
But if we take the Internet away for 2 weeks high streets shops would get alot alot of business. Don't want to pay parking but want to pay £3 postage for online shopping.
What shocks me most is that this is in the so-called wealthy SE of England. Hampshire is one of the richest counties in Britain.
Maybe rich people don't use the high street?
Waterlooville is close to Portsmouth. I would guess if people want to go shopping they would rather go to a larger, more diverse shopping area. Rich people can afford deliveries. People shop on line. Wealth has little to do with it, although Waterlooville is probably one of the poorest areas of Hampshire. It is just the way things are. The high street is dying because people shop differently these days.
I live in Salisbury, whose city centre shops are closing. I very, very rarely go to the city centre because it is easier to shop on line or go to an edge of town supermarket where so much is in one place.
The town centre of Sutton Coldfield where I live is going he same way little by little.
I grew up in Waterlooville. In the 80s that town centre was thriving...but then they built lots of retail parks and with the onset of internet shopping it killed it (even McDonald's shut down!)
I've travelled and lived in SE Asia, most notably Thailand, where small businesses, shops, restaurants, cafes, etc., thrive. They don't have to pay businesses rates, almost zero regulation, and no parking charges. Tesco pulled out of Thailand as they didn't get the culture. In these environments, small, independent businesses work. Maybe it's time to open up these areas to small independent traders with peppercorn rents, minimal regulation, and free parking. We could learn a lot from so-called " emerging economies."
No shareholders mate so they ain't interested.
Yep that's the beauty of Thailand, been here 20 years and love it
Correct, although you do need some regulation, as without that they could sell 'anything' if you know what I mean.
Gaz UK
" bands won't play no more, too much fighting on the dance floor "
Nicely spotted,The SPECIALS.
Dis towwwn, a comim' like a ghost towwwn...
And that was during the Tory era too. Funny that....
"I dread to think what the future will bring...."
And never did I think it would be as desolate as this. 🥺🇬🇧🔥
I get the message rudy
Sadly everything must die for people to wake up.
People are dying as well, over and above what is considered 'normal'.
@@gmc9451Fully agree, the sheep are embracing the new normal whilst they sleepwalk.
@@grahamrichards384I'm sure you've got the answer?
We have Amazon. Mallcz, seznam , large retail parks in the suburbs and other online retail here in Prague. Shopping malls are full and finding empty retail locations is rare. There’s no lack of farmers markets, butchers, bakeries and everything else one could want. We have cobblers, tailors, watch repair, blade sharpeners, pretty much any other type of mom and pop shop. Same in Plzen and Brno.
Can’t say I understand how this has happened to the UK. The excuses I hear- online shopping and COVI don’t make sense to me.
As well as having some of the most beautiful police women you also have the wonderful Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal! The English should move to Prague?
@@PWMozeEnglish aren’t very welcome here. Lads come on stag dos and act like cha-s. Same as how Spain is fed up.
You Czechs are very lucky your malls are thriving, The U.K. should learn from them.
@@michaelquinones-lx6ksCR embraced the European Union.
It’s not happening everywhere- visit Brighton in Sussex rarely any empty spaces!
I grew up near waterlooville, as a teenager in the mid 90's it was thriving, always busy, plenty of shops, pleasant enough atmosphere, i moved away in 2005, when i came back to visit from time to time i noticed it was on the decline in 2008 and it got worse and worse since, such a shame, as great as the internet is it's killed alot of high streets.
Is it an OK place to live other than the high street?
Not much going on as it's very suburban but some nice areas with nice houses, lovely countryside nearby and the beaches of Hayling and Southsea not far. Everyone would go into Portsmouth for shopping or entertainment as Waterlooville is basically a suburb of Portsmouth
The local rates (tax) system and retail property rental system has destroyed the high streets.
What about al the people who shop on line ? Ironically they're usually the ones who whinge about the death of the High Street they've helped to kill.
Rates are not the problem. It's VAT plus greedy landlords
Thanks mate. I am from Liverpool and have struggled since the lockdowns. Only yesterday, 17/05/24 I had an appointment in our town centre and when I went out onto Dale Street L1! I thought it was a SUNDAY…I walked just under a mile to my destination and probably passed no more than 20 people…
Hope you're doing better now mate! Thanks for watching and the comment 👍 please share the video with any like minded people to help spread the video far and wide! 🙏
i'm a postie and deliver to my local high street, the overhead costs are killing store/shop keepers...we also have too many poorly built post war buildings that are now not fit for purpose....and there full of MDF, Asbestos, RACC Concrete but we have beautifully built town halls, churches and cathedrals in our town centres that haven't suffered the same fate
This is common place across the country don't know what would help the high streets recover I just think online shopping mistaking over as prices are lower but also greedy councils keeping rates rent high for prospective businesses it's such a shame to see local town centres in such a state great upload
that was particularly grotty, it almost looked like they were getting ready to knock it all down, similar to Dolphin Square in Weston Super Mud - but even after that place was levelled and rebuilt it's still empty for the most part, high rents' business rates too are a killer and then the fact not many people have cash to burn these days, plus we live somewhere where they don't want people to be enterprising in any way or to thrive
I used to live in Waterlooville. I think all shops in the precinct, Wellington Way and the Boulevard need to be completely removed. Maybe keep Dukes Walk where Waitrose used to be though. Make the area an affordable housing estate with plenty of new infrastructure.
Sad but interesting to watch. Thanks for sharing! Cheers from Germany
Greetings from the UK 👋 thanks for watching and the comment 👍
This will come to Germany soon. The UK is actually a more advanced digital economy where people shop online.
Terribly sad. I think you hit the nail on the head, with the reasons these shops are closed. Thanks again Joe for your reporting .
Thank you 🙏 I think that combination is what's killing the highstreet.
i used to date a girl from there around 2006ish, he was so nice and pretty, the distance just was too much as i live in london, i met her again randomly in 2019 she ended up as bad as the town... ruined druggy, single mother of 3 different baby daddies. I was shocked when she recognised me but she looked so old and messed up, she was 3 years younger than me yet looked 10 years older. :\
In my job 5-6 years ago, I was told by some of the businesses in Wellington Way that they were given notice to leave by the landlords who wanted to redevelop the area. Perhaps after Covid, the landlords got cold feet. People aren’t prepared to go into a town where there are high parking charges when free parking is available across the road in the retail park or nearby supermarkets. I bet if you went to that retail park, it was thriving.
True, I don't even drive but I think the high cost of parking for a few hours must play a part in why some of these towns are struggling. It's pure greed from the local councils and it deters people from shopping.
Yeh these clown kids doing these channels don’t show the thriving shopping mall across town etc
Oh…and yep those pension funds that own a lot of this land and even down to the parking etc is global and a little bit of it pays for grannies pension
So before you moan about landlords and capitalism explore the depth and nuance to theses things…and stick in at school being most on here seem Zoomers zzzzzzzz
Greedy landlords.
Many of these parking companies are actually in effect financed even on a global level by pension or private equity funds….simply put a little bit of grannies pension comes from those profits.
Same with the empty shops etc
A lot of the broad model for commercial property is 70-75% occupancy
If they have to offer rents at cheaper often the model starts to crumble
Also what you’ve got is a lot of businesses could be offered these places for pennies and factoring time STILL loose money
@@huna1950
Yes. What is not generally realised is that all taxes fall on employers, despite appearances. VAT must be absorbed by sellers to maintain volumes of sales. Income tax and NICS are also part of employers' labour costs; real wages are actual purchasing power of net pay. "Gross pay" is a scam on employers. After all these taxes are taken, businesses may well be unviable, leaving nothing over for rent ie the premises could not be given away - they are "sub marginal".
Business rates are based on out of date values. If rental values are next to zero, then so should be business rates which are meant to be based on rental values. This aggravates the problem. The remedy is root-and-branch tax reform but it is kept firmly off the agenda.
No matter how derelict things become, the taxes, bills and rent will always go up
100 years from now it'll be like mad max but with £20 an hour parking
Sorry to disappoint you but the £20 parking fee is just 10 years away.
imagine if there was no government or council to steal the wealth generated by private business...
Spoken like a true communist ( no heaven as well lol 😂
I’m imagining the mountains of black bin bags ,old sofas,and dog poop strewn walkways without the coucilinvolvement..
Very true. Councils biggest. Culprit
With car parking charges and council rates. Plus business rates.
Plus today's idle way of shopping online without seeing the goods or quality. Now that Labour controls more councils, rates will go up.
@@harryjohnson9299 communism revolves around centralised government pal, miles off
@@griswald7156 really? because the worst places for that in britain have some of the highest council rates.
I live in Waterlooville and although it’s not great, that Wellington way shopping centre was earmarked for demolition hence why it’s empty. They planned for flats to be built by the planning was turned down. The owners are now spending millions restoring the units.
If Wellington Way is to stay open, I think all those units should be merged into one huge unit that can be used for multi purposes by the community. The layout is very uninviting in my opinion. At least make it indoor.
They were planning to build flats? What a surprise!
@@loriswafford4672 Who would want to live in a ghost town? I can’t see the rents being low enough to attract people.
@@clairejones7878 new arrivals
It's only the town centre which is a ghost town. Waterlooville itself is actually quite big...if he'd walked 5 mins he would have got to the retail parks which would have been heaving
People will continue to use Amazon for everything, unfortunately. I worked at one of their warehouses for 4 months during the winter of 2016-17. Made me lose faith in the entire system we live in and seeing the number of people who use it only increase despite what comes out about how they treat their warehouse workers and delivery drivers has made me lose the little bit of faith I had left in humanity. You bring up the issues with Amazon to them and they immediately try to change the subject. Anything to avoid facing the reality that THEY'RE the problem and the reason why their high streets are now desolate.
Why do people buy from Amazon?
@@lukemclellan2141 Convenience and lower prices than eBay. I also think conformity plays a role. That old "Everyone else is doing it, so I might as well do it too" line of thinking. It's this unquestioning trend following behaviour from normies why some of the most evil companies out there have managed to get where they are today.
@@lukemclellan2141 If you go to the high street it will take you at least an hour, they probably won't have what you want, there are no reviews, it's more expensive, you have to pay for petrol and parking, etc. Working a full time job, I frankly cannot go to the high street unless it's a weekend. But that's not the reason high streets are failing in my opinion. There are no jobs in towns anymore so everyone moves to the city.
London England today is an absolute shambles.
I lived in this area for 4 years as a kid - moved there from my native Sweden. Back then (early-mid 70's) the areas around Southampton and Portsmouth were quite well-off, lively and pleasant. Homelessness, boarded up shops and drug paraphernalia... That only existed "somewhere else", up north, or around London, maybe... Certainly not on the south coast.
When local councils charge people £10 an hour for parking and don't give new retailers reduced rent for the first year then this happens.
"Austerity Paves the Path to Fascism" Professor Richard D Wolff on Democracy at Work.
Why?.
@@gmc9451 Austerity means less money for councils from central government, plus less money for individuals ( bedroom tax, frozen benefit payments etc etc )
Yes, deliberately.
Grew up with this as our main high street. Go back 15-20 years this place had everything you needed.
😢. There may not “Always be an England”.
Englangistan.
I've just been to Totnes in Devon.So many small shops that go on forever all thriving.The main street is packed with people.Same in Cambridge.Such a shame to see these small towns suffering like this.
I know Totnes quite well, visited many times. Lovely vibes there, my favourite town in UK. Would have been happy to move there but we emigrated instead.
@@philiptownsend4026
Good luck to you and your family Philip 👍
Yes a delight to wander through Totnes. What ever formula they are using it’s going against the trend. We are a much poorer country these days. A Tory catastrophe..
Even the graffiti artists can't be bothered
Sad to say I left England last month and don't miss it one bit! Town centres here in Mexico are thriving in comparison!
I know at least 3 people who moved to Mexico and they love it
My God - living here must be excruciatingly depressing. 😅😅😅
It really must be. Thanks for watching 👍
🎉🎉🎉 Amazing how an entire town can disappear 🫠. Great footage with so many closed Businesses. I Just can’t comprehend how this is still happening. So what do the locals do?
Very sad state of affairs.
Thank you JoeFish for another great video. Blessings from Paso Robles, California, Carlos
We were looking at moving here, but one look at that High Street was enough to change that idea! In fact, we felt so depressed that we had to go and have a drink to try and feel better😂!
We were so shocked as Waterlooville has quite wealthy areas. We were not expecting it to be so derelict and sad. I want to say great video, but it's also a very sad one. I hope it gets the regeneration it deserves.
Thanks for sharing that info! It certainly has the ghost town vibe about it. Thanks for watching hope you found somewhere nice to move in the end 👍
14 years of the Tories this is what you get.
Sure, but I've heard nothing from Labour on what their plans are to fix this.
Tory labour… two cheeks of the same arse
I haven't been to Worksop town centre for over 25 years but even way back then, it was like a ghost town. There were only charity shops, betting shops, hairdressers and the like open. Sheffield & Rotherham city/town centres are almost as bad. Council Tax on commercial premises is exorbitant as are the very high cost of rents and prohibitive clauses in lease agreements. Then there's the high cost of electricity, security, staff wages, water rates, and hidden costs like shoplifting, etc. Car parking charges are through the roof in most town and city centres. Who can afford to pay £10 for 2 hours parking? I believe there are many factors that have caused the death of high street shops. Big chains have moved to out-of-town retail parks where there is free parking and I think these shops are doing well. The imminent closure of banks and whatever building societies are left are another reason not to go into city centres. There are homeless people living rough on our streets and in shop doorways. Where I used to work, two homeless men died in our doorway two nights running a few winters ago. We had to enclose the doorway and put in a digital entry system as early morning cleaning staff couldn't get in to start their shift. Online shopping has contributed to the demise of high street shops for sure. The local Planning Departments have to be apportioned some blame. The sheer bureaucracy of planning applications takes a lot of time and money to negotiate and developers don't always get what they ask for to make their schemes financially viable. I'm sure there are other factors too that have contributed to the sorry state of our city centres. Scunthorpe, Hull and Barnsley town centres are filled with illegal migrants and the areas don't feel safe.
And it’s not going to get worse….
EBay and Amazon did this but you can’t blame people for saving money bro🤙🏻
Certainly a factor for sure! Thanks for watching
eBay was fine in the 2000's-early 2010's. The big problem with it now is that Chinese sellers using multiple accounts to sell the same product absolutely dominate the site, so local sellers end up with their products being buried deep in the search results. A lot stop selling their products on there altogether because they know they can't compete with these ruthless Chinese sellers.
It's the same in Beverley Hills and Covent Garden.
The West is done.
Just been in Greece, and like Bulgaria, you hardly see a boarded up shop. People are out socializing, enjoying life, supporting the community and local businesses; something online suppliers don't give a pony about.
Wow the streets are so quiet there. Thank you for showing us. You really know how to make videos interesting. Much respect to you sir. Great weekend to you as well.
Thanks for the kind words 🙏 I hope you enjoy the rest of the content! Really appreciate it 👍
I used to live in Waterlooville. Waitrose gone, Wilko gone, so many shops gone. Most people go down to the retail park where Sainsbury’s and Matalan are.
That's what most of the locals said also. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍
@@JoefishJ Please come and do a video of Brentwood in Essex. I would be interested in what you think of it. 🙂
Didn’t know Waterloo had got that bad I remember as a kids it always used to be full of shops and people:(
Extortionate rent, rates and parking charges has killed many high streets. Add to that all the vagrants, druggies and beggars which making it a miserable shopping experience.
That's what puts a lot of people off shopping in person. They used to treat it as a fun social activity. People don't deserve to be harassed while out shopping. It's not always cheaper to shop online but people do so to stay away from being harassed.
Staff in one Lush shop said they were sick and tired of hearing street preachers nearby shouting in a megaphone all day except on Sundays when I said that they often put me coming into the shop.
Not to mention how much cheaper things are online, seeing the same items for like £40-£50 more in a retail shop.
@@lemsip207Ironic the supposed Lord's Day is the day they don't preach. They are a major nuisance in Belfast, they've always been around but didn't use to use high-powered amplification to blast their nonsense to those who don't want to listen as well as to those who do.
The council are planning to bring in a permit system to regulate it.. all the freeze peach warriors are up in arms. I say yes to freedom of speech, but no to noise nuisance.
@rachel.mcgowan They are in church then. I used to attend the church many of them are from, and when I found out, I left.
The police and the council ignored them. They put a lot of shoppers off who instead shopped online and in out of town retail parks that are privately owned, so don't allow street preachers. They get free parking but on the other hand use more petrol getting there. It is not always cheaper to do that, but it means being free of being harassed by them, chuggers, and beggars. The staff in the Lush shop nearby said they had got sick of hearing it from Monday to Saturday. That's one of the reasons for the high turnover in retail jobs there.
I see a lot of these videos on UA-cam and harassment of shoppers, and noise nuisance are among the reasons why. It's not only because people have less money because they have a lot of money to shop online. Shopping online, bigger supermarkets selling non food products and retail parks gave shoppers alternatives to town and city centres. Before, they were a captive market.
Pedestrianisation has given them spaces in which to do this. On streets open to motor traffic, people are crowded onto pavements so they wouldn't have room to do this.
I spoke to one manager of a health food shop, and she said they moved their premises into an arcade as staff and customers reported getting harassed by beggars and drug dealers.
@@lemsip207 I suspected attending church was the reason, it still seemed a little ironic. I'm not anti-Christianity, I'm a liberal sort of Christian myself but I feel these people give a very bad impression of the faith, but if you say anything you're accused of being a bigot who is against free speech.. no I'm against the sense of entitlement to treat the high street like your personal arena. All the other problems you mention put me off as well.. I avoided Manchester city centre for last few years of living there.. moving back to N.Ireland is a mixed bag because there's a lot of the same problems especially in Belfast but my own town on the coast is pleasant if a bit sleepy.
Joe - come to Blyth in the north east - ghost town. You also have Ashington, South Shields. ALL used to be thriving
Definitely heading north soon. I'll put a message out on the channel closer to the time. If your a local would be good to get your perspective 👍
@@JoefishJcheck out Blackpool, Barrow in Furness, Whitehaven etc. Also the Greater Manchester area. Most have been covered already in one way or another, but they’d be interesting to see with your slant on them.
oh my god .. i live in portsmouth , haven't been in waterlooville for a few years , i could compare it to pripyat in ukrane , i am shocked really .. what a state , was a lovely little town a few years ago ,such a shame
You seen arundel Street lately, more the top end by the fountain? It's terrible
Another top video Joe, this has to be the worst town center you have visited. i am absolutely dumbfounded with this one. congrats on 12k subs
We forward your wonderful truthful reports worldwide ❤️❤️❤️
Unfortunately Waterlooville is also disadvantaged by not having its own train station. It has Petersfield to the north, Fareham to the west, Havant to the east and Cosham to the south. People who don’t drive are solely reliant on bus services.
That used to be a posh area, thirty years ago! When I was a kid. Great video, again! Cheers 😎
It's gone down hill dramatically! Thanks for watching and the comment 👍🙏
Don’t worry New Zealand isn’t far behind because of cycling lanes and removing car parking and on line shopping
A number of factors combined isn't it... Thanks for watching
@@JoefishJ true
Yep, I live in Petone, Wellington and last week went with a friend to a suburb about 5 k's away called NaeNae (Said, Nigh-Nigh) and I was going to the well known butcher shop there, my mates wife used to travel from Wellington City weekly to go to that shop. The shop was gone and I asked a local how long ago did the butchers go...5 years he said. The rest of the small shopping centre is like being on the moon...No Atmosphere. I hadn't realised that I hadn't been there for a decade until later that night when I was thinking how it was now kaputsky. Seems its an international thing that has no bearing on what the Globalists want, they want to do away with small business and the middle class, they want everybody to shop at Malls...THEIR Malls and they also want a New World Order they call it which in our terms translates to a World Government (THEM) a Woeld Police (Again THEM) and they are backed up by the United Nations, Agenda Thirty it is called and was available on the UN website. The 30 stands for the year 2030, the year they want the New World Order implemented by. Trump is fighting them tooth and nail and this is why they crap on him so much and so often. He now knows who is good and who is bad in DC and also that the three letter agencies were holding back briefing info on him...watch this space.
They're not removing car parking. It's that more people own a car now than ever. You now have households with a car per head. This was never a thing when I was growing up (which wasn't all that long ago). If they made parking provisions for every car driver these days, our towns and cities would become huge parking lots just like what we see in American towns and cities. If that's the future you want for yourself and your children, fair enough, but I sure don't.
@@LifeofBrad1 you need to do your research and not research from bullshit university papers with green crap on them
Thanks for visiting Waterlooville, Joe. I grew up just around the corner in Pubrook/Crookhorn and spent more or less every weekend in Waterlooville growing up. It seems there's been a lot of eyes nationally on the area lately too. One of my friends owns a small business on this high street, and has confirmed what many people in the area have gossiped about for years, the firm that owns the buildings and land in Waterlooville charge an absolutely obscene amount for rent. Coupled with the way the world's been the last 4 years and what feels like a targeted killing of the high street nationally, I am so sad to think that Waterlooville just doesn't stand a chance of ever making a comeback. It used to be bustling just 15 years ago, busy all the time, with loads of great independent shops and a good mix of bigger name stores, now it's one of the most depressing places I generally avoid when I visit home.
Hi thanks for sharing that info there! You are indeed clarifying what I heard from the locals. Please share the video with any other like minded people! Help shine a light on the situation. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍
Its greed, sheer greed that has brought our country to its knees. It breaks my heart to see a lot of our towns like this now,depressing and heartbreaking.😢
So sad !!!!
Yeovil,Somerset.The council now pals to demolish Glovers Walk Shopping Centre.Street,Somerset,proposed to demolish High Street shopping centre,as old Tesco store being empty for years.
So depressing, but this is happening in my town too! Barnsley has a new shopping centre which is hardly used because parking is too expensive and the bus services have been decimated! One street back from the new centre the old shops are boarded up with only a Poundland and 6 charity shops left! Even Wetherspoon has closed 😮
when wetherspoons closes you know the rapture is close.
And I thought Southend was bad. This is a whole new level. Very sad 😢
Likewise I thought I had seen some bad high streets but this definitely took the top spot! Thanks for watching
Sheffield council destroyed the City Centre years ago, now it seems like a genius move as the destruction happening elsewhere will not hit as hard.
To state the bleeding obvious, businesses can’t make money out of a shop anymore - the overheads exceed the spending power of the people that might use them. More and more people on the breadline, online shopping, retail parks and the internet have killed our need to shop. The government need to allow developers to turn shops into housing and end the housing crisis this way.
Keep up the great content Joe ❤
Appreciated thank you 🙏👍
Great videos! Its like slow and easy and joyfull to watch!
My first job in early 1980s was in Waterlooville - It was a very busy shopping area - I guess i shouldn't really be shocked to see it in such a state now.
We've got large plants growing in some of our shops. What I find weird is the local council spending many millions on building new, modern shops right next to all the empty shops that they can't rent out. There was a promise of large companies moving in to the new shops but they have now pulled out of the deal. The same thing happened to the same council when Sainsburys were going to build a shop just outside town. The council spent a fortune on new roads, etc. because Sainsburys weren't happy with the layout and access, just for Sainsburys to change their mind. If councils were private companies they would have to take much better care of our money.
Giant supermarkets have sadly killed the high street and councils deliberately made parking difficult and expensive. Good reporting 👍
Its a great channel you are building. I visited family in Manchester few years back and saw nothing like this. It's real, just like some suburbs here in Australia. But no one does what you do here from what I'm aware of. Keep up the good work. 👍🏼
How come there is always a Turkish barbers, a vape shop and a mobile phone shop that seems to be doing okay? I can understand there is still a massive demand for crap take away grub, but the barbers? I don't get it.
Money laundering.
I grew up in the sixties. There where lots of barber shops about back then.Whats there to get. Haircuts a good clue.😂
In addition to all that lot, here in Manchester in a half-mile stretch of road we have 7 African hairdressing supply shops and one that describes itself as a 'wig installer'. I understand that police won't investigate these cash businesses as they claim it takes up too much time and manpower..... 94% of crime is apparently unsolved, so what are they doing? And why are we paying for them?
Asian immigrants are your last hope, at least they keep their shops and businesses running. Their kids study hard and go to universities to get professional degrees like doctors and lawyers.
Seems the locals have given up on life and turned to drugs.
They exist to make a profit for the owners of the empty shops to claim a vacant tax deduction on.
I'm from Brum and you have loads of empty shops these days and Birmingham city council has just gone bankrupt.
They slapped a low emissions zone in the city centre and hiked up parking costs and trains are unreliable. No wonder people don't buy in the shops anymore.
That's without the group's of teens that hang around not actually shopping. Many a time I've wanted to go into a shop to walk away after seeing a gang hanging around outside.
I buy online these days.
Great video, sad situation.
Thanks 🙏 it really is...
Great informative video. Thanks. You've said it all, Online shopping, out of town retail parks. Coholio killed a lot of independent stored putting them out of business . Thanks for this video ❤
Great vid as always.
Just returned from Spain. A shocking and depressing contrast.
Where do you live in the UK?
14 years of conservative idology.
Exactly, spot on!
Not quite - the internet and mass immigration have been responsible for this kind of thing. Tories haven't helped of course, but let's not pretend Labour would have been any different. The UK is a dead country now.
@@simonthewatchguy6073It's actually to do with high rents, none of these premises are wholly owned by a particular company, they are often part owned and usually has something to do with bank loans, they would rather keep them empty then fill them and the whole concept will collapse whilst the government bail out the banks again
Charming little gem😊😊
good & informative coverage. lets us see the real situation on the ground! Thanks
Thanks for watching and the comment 👍 please share the video with any like minded people to help spread the video far and wide! 🙏
Really liking these videos joe looks so sad these places have closed down the rent is just extortionate
We have the same thing happening in Pontypool Wales, a few week's ago boots the chemist closed down. It's looking more like a ghost town, ever few weeks a shop/store closed down.
Kebab shop, phone shop and barbers, all cash only businesses. I wonder how these places manage to still operate? Hmmmmmm......
We all KNOW who owns them ..AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING...But the authorities ( police, government)...DON'T GIVE A SHIT!....or are scared to do anything...for fear of being Racist...🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Who owns them and what are they doing?
@@jamesowen7977 Ethnic MInorities ... I.E Muzies
@@R3AP3R664so they are better at business than the English?
@@frankhornby6873Dont believe everything you read on social media. Get out into the real world.
Joe are you planning to do a vlog of Rhyl ? That will be interesting !
By Wikipedia - In August 2012 the northern part of the shopping centre underwent a £700,000 renovation, the raised area holding the former fountain was removed and new block paving installed. The renovation increased the area available to the weekly Friday market and improved pedestrian accessibility. In addition a "smoking-shelter" style band-stand was installed at pedestrian T-junction with The Boulevard. - is this true?
I can't say for sure but if you look on the video as I approach the shopping centre the main signage looks to be around that sort of age?
That’s not Wilkinson’s that’s the old Waitrose Store.
Wellington Way is currently being worked on to develop the units for a fresh intake of retailers and that is why you saw scaffolding and various units being worked on. The Nat West right next to the bus stop has plans to become a restaurant and bar.
The place has been allowed to run down through several years of neglect as a result of a Tory lead council and greedy landlords. The only way it can be revived is by boosting the customer footfall and in order to do that it is needed to attract new shops to open up. This might be achievable by offering very good terms in the rental of units. Unless this happens we will be stuck with a terminally ill White Elephant.
Thanks for sharing that information. I really hope this video shines a light on the situation and things change for the better. Please share the video with any like minded people. Thanks for watching 👍🙏
crazy this is what they UK has become
Crazy indeed! Thanks for watching and the comment 👍🙏
You might like to visit Poole in Dorset. The middle of the High Street is a bit dire, but the Dolphin shopping centre is sort of OK. The lower end of the High Street near The Quay has lots of bars and pubs.
However it's the street immediately outside the shopping centre that's of interest. It's been rebranded as a destination "Kingland" rather than just Kingland Crescent and the owners of the shopping centre have closed all the large stores in the street and made them into much smaller units that after COVID were offered to market traders free for a year. Most businesses have stayed and it's really thriving. Small business is the way forward. The local fresh fish shop has relocated from the port to Kingland.
There's even a new record and cd shop, along with a few original brands such as Specsavers, Blacks, Trespass, Vodafone. Greggs has just doubled the size of their store and the empty M&S is now a kids play and putt with a sushi bar.
Keep up the great content.
Sounds decent 👍 might take a visit sometime. Thanks for the recommendation
This happened to USA cities before… they let the artists use the spaces and it kicked off an explosion of creativity in the 1980s. Let the creative people use the spaces and they will recreate the town centres for the future
How exactly is painting an abandoned building going to help anyone? Unemployed people struggling to feed themselves will be passing them and saying, "well I'm hungry, but this looks pretty" ....
@@Kreska0 artists do more than paint, we dont know what creative ideas artists will come up with for these spaces. Entertainment is as important as food… writers are artists, so are musicians and designers,poets, bin men!
@@lostgleammedia you are delusional... This is real life not a fairytale.
@@Kreska0 was literally talking about real life, it happened before it can happen again. A lot of energy in the people if you give them hope. New geo thermal power generation anywhere technology is coming up, thats clean energy that can save the planet. Now let the creative people do what they do
@@lostgleammedia you are either very young or delusional, there is nothing in between...
Everyone at home is shocked at watching this before clicking over to buy some more stuff.
Not far wrong there
Same all over the uk places left even some shopping malls are going down hill selling lots of cheap imitation silver and gold know in my late 50s id never thaught this country would end up like this also being invaded by boats and a messed up government to alow this to happen
Invaded 😂
RATES ……simple so high for tenants to pay plus the rent never goes down either ….very sad to see
Exactly! Rates are normally 49% if the rentable value.
Simple answer for Waterlooville's shopping decline, is Gunwarf quays, 15 minutes away in portsmouth, A large shopping centre on the dock, with everything inside and outside it.
There is simply not enough shops about in town centres to service all the shoppers and consequently the major chains concentrate on a smaller number of towns. The opening of the new shopping centre in Bracknell has taken trade from High Wycombe and Slough which are pretty bad nowadays. Same analogy as Gunwharf Quays. I would also ask who goes to Portsmouth City centre anymore ?
Very sad to see I’m coming over in June uk from New Zealand my family come from Scotland and England and wales keep up your amazing work
Awesome 👍 if you can get to the South West, head to places like Wells, Cheddar, Newquay, St Ives for a true taste of England. There is some wonderful spots and people 👍🙏
I'm planning on moving back to the UK after 12 years of living in China. Although I love your channel and content, I'm praying for a video that shines the UK in a more positive light. Have you thought about visiting one of these (Top 10 UK High Streets):
Victoria Street & West Bow, Edinburgh
High Street, Stockbridge
The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells
Church Street, Hereford
Broadway, Cotswolds
Town Centre, Petworth
High Street, Burford
Magdalene Street, Cambridge
The Lanes, Brighton
Town Centre , Llandeilo
I live in Hertfordshire on the Hert and Essex borders. It's pretty good here with Ware, Hertford, and Bishop’s Stortford, my local towns still having nearly full occupation of shops. But the UK is seriously shit and getting worse by the day. I'm counting down the days until I can return to Thailand, where I'm most happy. Britain is in a massive downward spiral.
Another one to add to the high street is
BELPER HIGH STREET in DERBYSHIRE. won high street for 2019 for the country. There’s a lot of independent shops, and there’s always things going off. Car parking is reasonable and one free car park at the moment.
Hopefully it will keep going.
@@dawncrisp8531 White flight?
@@martynbushit’s very, very sad and painful to watch …
Certainly an eye-opener and a plight. Great video. Shame nothing inagiative is bring done to reclaim those empty properties, except any money that could be spent is being prioritised elsewhere. There mustn't be any toilets nearby either unless people don't care.
Thanks for this, Joe.
I've never seen anywhere that dead. Think the only solution longer term is to redevelop for residential.
Thanks for watching, honestly neither have I... Really was like a ghost town!
U will own nothin and be happy ..coming to everywhere
Councils should offer no rates for a year, or similar incentives, to breathe some life into the economy.
...imagine the vermin that would take advantage of that!!...😱
Business rates are set by central government, and the money goes to them. Councils just collect the money for central government.
The He Con Oh My. It's on the verge of collapse it's a ponzi scheme. It will be replaced with didital tokens. The sheep will be so desperate they will take the tokens and accept complete enslavement with their one world digital ID and social credit scores.
You're opening statement says it all really......"we;ve got the kebab shop, the phone shop and the barbers"......welcome to the modern day high street
Indeed! Thanks for watching 👍
Notice how all the external ground/street furniture is all new, the pedestrianised overkill and the abolishment of vehicle access and use.
You go anywhere to buy a product , how are you going to get it home? How do you put it in the boot of your car with no vehicle access or facilities ?
All the money is available for vehicle and facial surveillance and the restriction of access and movement via fancy pavements but if we want to rent a derelict shop we have to pay the council for the refurbishment, the extortionate rent and the business rates.... just to be able to sell something to make enough money to pay the extortionate rent and council tax to the council for a home where we can receive more bills from the council to pay for more restrictions
Well,, it's good to see that most of the Windows are still intact, and not too much Graffiti around. Unlike our local shopping centre " Poole in Dorset" where there are many empty shops with garaffiti & smashed windows, groups of intimidating ferral youths lurking around in hoodies, blatantly stealing food from the cabinets in Greggs & local shops, yet no one appears to challenge them. 😠
Gosh Poole must have changed..used to be quite superior...happy days at the Haven Hotel...
@@avryllsixtus3429 Yes indeed, it's hardly recognisable to what it was a few years ago. " you would not go in, without a shirt and tie" The Haven Hotel. The Harbour Heights Hotel, and The Sanbanks Hotel, all owned by the same organisation, are looking very run down, and earmarked for "Illegal" immigrant accomodation. 😥
JoeFish: whenever you see him in your town you know it means your town is in a shit state.
Unfortunately seems to be the case! Thanks for watching dude 👊👍
Shopping in old towns is annoying and less accessible. It is the same in France where I love to head for the countryside with a line of huge shops in several basements, each building having 200 m2 for one shop/brand. Easy to access with cars.
Waterlooville used to be a vibrant, youthful town when I was younger..
What happened was that over time they put more and more old people's homes in the area. This totally changed the vibe of the place.
The old people didn't leave the homes to shop as they were frail and elderly and younger families moved away from the area.
Waterlooville is what happens when OAP's take over an area.
Thanks for watching and the comment 👍 please share the video with any like minded people to help spread the video far and wide! 🙏
Portaloo😢
One of the locals said that! Thanks for watching 👍🙏
There are a number of reasons this has happened. Amazon etc but it started when they discouraged the motor car.
It's essentially the same in Haverhill (Suffolk) too. Almost everything is boarded up apart from the estate agents, charity shops, bookies, Turkish barbers, a vape shop, a Costa and a few other small retailers. It's become a dead zone over the last couple of years.
I used to live there, and back in the 1980s, Waterlooville was a bustling high street. You didn't need to go into Portsmouth if you didn't want to. I now live in Penzance, it's such a shame to see it in such disrepair. If you go into Portsmouth, commercial road is just as bad.
Thanks for watching and the comment 👍 please share the video with any like minded people to help spread the video far and wide! 🙏