This Is How You Kill A City.
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
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Made in Britain - • The Last of the Great ...
Episode 13 - Death of the High Street / Leeds
This video has brought me to Leeds. A city which once was super famous for its shopping. It had a huge number of shopping arcades so I was intrigued to see what shape they were in.
I also made a visit to the White Rose centre, a giant out of town shopping mall. It was actually in a lot better shape than I thought. There was one strip of boarded up shops but that was it really.
I talk about rents in this video. How the reluctance to lower rent on property is such a factor in the decline of town centres. Even though we know the buildings don't hold that value any more, they still don't budge.
Driving into Leeds was a night mare and the parking was tricky too, all factors which make places like the White Rose more appealing.
New culprits falling as well, with Matalan going the end of the month. Another empty shop ready to take its place on the high street.
Until next time,
W.T
#Leeds #high #street #urban #decay #shopping #retail #abadoned #shopping #city #explore #explorepage
You should check out my Made in Britain episode here 😀 The Last of the Great Furniture Makers
ua-cam.com/video/YPsHpxIZBqU/v-deo.html
Great video. Keep up the great work.
Politicians have had plenty of time to (1) address online businesses, like
Amazon under cutting shops and (2) address landlords raising rents.!
Made in Britain episode is magic! 🙏
Btw the reason the core is empty and people and closing is cus it’s being knocked down
All the shut green bit in kirkgate market is also brand new I don’t even think you can let them yet
"The buildings aren't worth what they say they are"
Never a truer word.
Landlords love to be millionaires on PAPER.
Wad s shoiit whole
Same with houses.
@andrewjames9996
People are millionaires ON PAPER. That's pretty much the definition. As he says, if they lower the rent to fill the premises, they are acknowledging that the building isn't worth as much as they hope. The government does nothing to help fill the shops because of the concomitant drop in commercial property value. A large chunk of the "size" of the UK economy is the "value" of property. Therefore they keep up the illusion of being a "wealthy" country by inflated property prices and all its knock on effects, i.e. high rents and therefore empty high streets.
No building is currently worth anywhere near what they think it is. Average house prices are £120k over market value
Don't think you're being negative. This is top class journalism.
I agree. It's honest reporting on a very negative situation. There are no 'journalists' in the mainstream, just lying propandists.
Exactly. Its not negative or positive when you're just showing reality.
Spot on mate.
The longer we remain in denial we long it’s stays ugly.
@@abdaljabbarhusayn610But it isn't reality, Leeds as a city is booming, it's doing better then ever. Shops are closing because people don't go shopping anymore, a lot of the buildings are changing use, that entire empty shopping centre for example is being knocked down and some very nice appartments are being built.
@@Benji567891leeds very busy still, but a lot of places that are unique independant shops, market stalls and shops poorer people went are closing closed, they stuggle with sky high rent..,
A lot new places are just fancy high price eateries pushing unhealthy junk food and student accomodation plus booze. Also more public spaces getting fenced of for private places. But they put up lots fancy tat stalls and run many expensive events and fancy lights bubble tea and stuff for those that have a few quid.
In Amsterdam they allow people to set up pop-up shops in the unused retail space. A lot of the time that brings in creative people who bring a lot of culture and novelty to a town. Whatever happens we need to do something to bring back the sense of community and excitement in our towns. Really appreciate you highlighting these problems.
The higher ups don’t want that.
@@ProfileP246you’re both correct 👍🏻
US/UK are too greedy & stupid for that.
easy enough destroy the internet
@@t84t748748t6 lol destroy the internet, half the people who currently use the excuse "my child is autistic" will loose there peace of mind, others will go broke in an instant, yeah sure destroy the internet
2:58 A painted on "Come in, we're open" is quite dystopian 😵💫
Might as well cover the buildings in flat screens showing people inside. In the future down town will be a ghost town with holograms of people and a big rotating wheel.
Same thing happening in Munich. A small community restaurant that organized events for seniors (like dancing classes, chess, small concerts etc) could not pay their rent due to Corona closures and instead of reducing the rent, they forced them to close and 4 years later the space is still empty. Who profits from this???
Well the owner of the building still claims to have something worth 20 million and takes loans out using it as collateral.
The spreadsheet jockeys
Blackrock.
@@evak4683 Keir Starmer has announced today that part of the remedy for UK's Tory £20 billion black hole is to be partly filled by selling off unused public buildings.
@@simontistBig Brother is watching you
Foreign investment firms own most of these buildings and that's the problem. They can sit on these properties for decades because to them they are just collateral.
Yep. That is the unspoken truth about real estate in Europe and the U.S.
They should not allow anyone foreign to own freehold property in the UK.
A lot of retail properties are owned by Hedge funds.
@@Thats_him_with_the_daft_hat As REITs.
@@LawrenceTimmeIt's free development money. Higher land values means a wealthier society.
Ignore the haters. Your videos are great and quite genuine. Keep up the great work
Interesting to note that the faux stick-on shops are all in the style of the kind of shop you’d hope to find in your local high street, rather than the glass-fronted mall shops that would be opened in the mall.
It’s as if they know they aren’t offering what people really want.
Mind thoughts too.
It's probably the local Business Improvement District that does up the shops. That's what the Harrogate BID does.
Dead malls look nicer than the real ones 😅
Yes that is just crazy, it's like a kick in the face...and for what?
Exactly - they paint a picture (literally) of how England used to be when it was a beautiful and wonderful country, yet it's fake, and inside a multi-cultural, multi-unit retail space Hell-hole. It's like some sick psychological torture technique, designed to crush the spirit.
A problem that I don't see anyone discussing is that many of the local councils in the UK have the pensions invested in indexes that are mostly hedged into commercial property. Long term prospects required are for higher rents and council taxes; if the price of the property goes down, everything goes down with it, the pensions, therefore the social support, the tax revenues from the businesses, all of it. One or two years rent is nothing compared to all of that; people hold their moves and boards go up while they wait for the market adjustments.
naaaaa it's all immigrants fault 😂
Bit of a South Sea Bubble though?
@@culturevulturepapi8948 was thinking same. Too much imigrants form eastern Europe must be the cause.
American malls died because it was an oversaturated market and when Amazon came along malls that were only just scraping by because of the competition from other malls suddenly could not scrape by any more.
I think we're just discovering this in UK , the more shopping malls you walk round, once vibrant cathedrals of consumerism, you now see at least one third of the outlets vacated or boarded up. Maybe we were thinking too big when we built them. There's only so much money in circulation at any given time. Only so much people have to actually spend. Less so now than ever.
I personally love your channel. You are creating a legacy library of videos that in future years will be a wonderful resource. You are creating a snapshot of what life is like socially and culturally in real time in the 2020s. I wish more people could see the bigger picture and the value that you bring to social history. Never stop. You are a wonderful presenter and you are authentic and balanced in your viewpoint.
He should literally have his own show on TV
YES!!
@@RegiyThornton
Been waiting for this one, so thank you!
As a Leeds girl born and bred who has lived here all my life, I could write an essay on your 'findings' as I know so much about the history of my city but no one wants to be bored 😂
The Core (the one that was virtually empty) is proposed to become student flats with retail at ground level so they will not be doing anything with it now either way (hence the gym closing); but they destroyed what was the Schofields/Headrow Centre by booting nearly all the retailers out years ago to reconfigure it into the weird, clinical, soulless space it is now, instead of just freshening it up and modernising it a bit. Still miss that food court at the top (Johnny Wong's Chinese outlet was the bomb; iykyk 😜).
That row at the side of the market is proposed to become a new Premier Inn, hence partly the reason it remains empty.
Shame you didn't get a proper look at the Merrion Centre; think you caught them at a bad time as those alarms were because there was a small fire in the Morrisons store and they had to evacuate the whole centre so were stressed!
And finally, yes driving in Leeds has always been a pain in the backside, but the last couple of years it has got especially terrible, particularly in the direction you had to travel in from the White Rose due to ongoing roadworks, pedestrianisation, cycle lanes etc; I was stuck on a bus back from there nearly an hour a couple of months ago, usually takes around 20 minutes. And they wonder why people, if they choose physical retail, go to out of town places 🙄
And there completes the essay I said I wouldn't write. Thanks to anyone who read it all! 🤣
I read it all! I’m a Leeds lass too and thank you for mentioning the Schofield Centre because I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it used to be called! I spent so much time in the HMV there.
Thanks, that was interesting to read even though I live in the South. It's the same story down here, so many towns and cities have lost their character and charm. Just the same generic, homogenised shops everywhere you go - Dullsville.
Am a leeds lad and am sick of student flats there are lots of homeless but no lets house people who come from middle class homes and can live almost anywhere
@@MrKingkz foreign investment.
Johnny Wongs, how many years ago did that shut? A decade? Jesus i feel old. Loved it in there back in the day!
You do a brilliant job……not at all depressing, just truthful and informative. Inspiring scenery, when not in cities! Plus excellent dry stone walls, when the arcades have been left behind! Keep going please!
How dare you show me how depressing the high street is!
@@markcollinson5665 who’s the clown letting his properties sit empty? Why do they do this? Surely they’re losing money?
It's the people also, so many seeming downcast unhappy people. Keep it up, you're covering an important aspect of urban decay that has greed and landlords and online shopping as major problems.
This issue of empty shops on high streets is a problem in many parts of the world
Correct. Let's not pretend that this is UK-only.
Yes, this also happens in French towns besides Paris, Lyon & Marseille for example.
Its quite simple the solution. The city centres are too big where I live we have the city centre, two side markets and a shopping centre. Why we aren't a big city so the centre is struggling lots of boarded up areas. Bless the city council though they tried to rent it out to small popups but nothing ever stuck.
Too many people just buy from online shops. Real shops cant and wont ever be able to compete. Its the free market baby ! the online shops don't need to pay high rents and floor room staff.
Take the advantage of city centres reduce it, beef up security and make it a wholesome small area rather than trekking all over town to each little small sections.
We have so few of what you call high streets even when the economy is bad they stay generally full but EVERY American city has atleast 1 dead mall. Structurally these are usually as cheap as it gets so they tend to disintegrate as soon as the maintenance stops leaving behind a costly liability for a municipality with fewer resources than it once had
Locally (Barbados - Ex Brittish Colony) I remember as a young lad going up the escalator in diamond mall and experiencing a small array of shops, but at some point the escalator broke down and it's been quardened off ever since. An entire portion of the upper levels, just completely abandoned. It's been well over 7-10 years since then
As someone who lives in Leeds, White Rose has been declining for a while now, didn't know they had the strip of boarded up shops though. But yeah, the vast majority of the White Rose is clothes shops, maybe a few other things on top. Driving to Leeds City Centre is a nightmare with almost nowhere to park without paying an arm and a leg. It's madness. What's worse is a lot of spaces that contain retail are being turned into student flats. Multiple buildings have either been set up or are in the process of being converted into student flats, in fact what was recently the House of Fraser is now becoming student flats. The Core is being proposed as a new space for student flats. What's worse is The Core used to be really nice when it used to be known as the Headrow Centre. You can still find pictures of it online when it existed as that. But when it became the Core, it took away all the lovely charm and decor of it and it became a soulless space. The Core also used to have our HMV which was huge, 2 floors with one for music, and another for DVD's, blu-rays and games. Now, that space is half empty, half One Below and the HMV is in a tiny space in the St. Johns Centre.
outer ring road garden centres with craft and farmers markets would suit me.
i've lived here five years and never been into town once. it was easier when i lived in the calder valley to get the train into leeds than it is to drive those few miles now.
It was once supposed to be the motorway capital of England.
@@daroniussubdeviant3869 That doesn't surprise me. That's probably true for even some of the outer suburbs of Leeds like Morley, Cottingley etc. as they have train stations. You could literally get a train in and out, but it is a barrier for some to go into the city centre.
yeah
Wait till they start building flats for illegals..
this looks like a good title for an Indiana Jones movie or children's mystery storybook: "Wondering Turnip and the Lost Shops of Leeds"
V.
Well what do you expect. USA spend 600 billions on war in Iraq and that had to come from somewhere , then spent another 400 billions in Afghanistan and that had to come from somewhere then spend another 200 billions in Ukaine and againg that had to come from somewhere and UK played along like a little USA miniture toy. All that money that was spent on wars abroad including the 40 billion Mrs May gave to greece in one year because the EU said so, this is the effect of it.
or perhaps instead of star wars return of the jedi, it could be shop wars. return of the shopper 😅
lol
Harry Potter as well.
HEY !!--I'D GO AND SEE THAT !!-& IN "3D"-TOO !!
Dude I don't think these vids are depressing at all, it's shining a light on what's going on in reality. Keep it up!
honestly whoever said that probably lives a rich and sheltered life. Reality is anything but friendly.
Just found you. I am an instant subscriber. As a person who has worked in retail all my life ,i have a big interest in the subject. Online shopping will be the death of your city. The first thing to say , everyone wants the best price. If you are selling a box ,online wins nearly everytime. The city centre shopping is not designed for modern retailing. The companies that have a real chance to survive are specialist stores,somebody who can offer knowledge and range .if you have range you need storage. If you have a product that requires installation you need access to park a vehicle .not just for a customer but for the installer collecting the customers appliance. The problem for the city centre now,however, it had now become unfit for purpose . You cant park in front of the shop and the companies dont have large stock rooms . The businesses that could use the city centre (me by the way) cant get in there to use them). Councils have massively inflated rates systems for the city centres that are now 40 to 50 years out of date. Beautiful old buildings are now crumbling before our eyes. What can we do about it? . There is plenty that can be done . Not to rescue it all .most properties WILL have to change to residential. Councils need to be made to rethink on design . Parking has to be free and available and artisan companies should be given space for free or even paid to put their shops there. Vibrancy and a level of excitement needs to replace apathy on so many levels. Councils are 100% the last people who are needed to save their own towns . We need different thinkers involved. Major retailers M&S Hammonds Debenhams woolworths HMV C&A have all gone or going so the question is ,what could go there and more importantly who will facilitate its happening. I have hundreds of ideas that would work,i just fear that council reluctance would stop most of it. By the way please come to Hull . This is a view of all your futures in another 10 years time. !!
This was interesting. Especially seeing your home city from an outsider's perspective. Should be noted that quite a lot of the empty spaces featured here are now full. The 'Bad Apples' building is now 'Underground Bakery' and it's very popular.
"You Shall Own Nothing And Be Happy"😢 UK🇬🇧
Owning is the problem. Large scale property portfolios owned by merchant banks that are massively over priced. Fair rents are the best option, not state subsidised 'property ladders' that only serve billionaire investors and buy to let multi millionaires.
no private homes or private farms 2030
@@buy.to.let.britain you have a Value point
@@tentringer4065 owning isn't a problem at all. In fact it is the best option when you plan on staying anywhere for a long time. The problem is when you get people owning who aren't in that area or have not interest in it other than making money.
@@LawrenceTimme investors in the market prefer a shortage of affordable properties. The market, that is ownership investment, incentivises a lack of affordable rented properties and puts mortgages beyond the reach of most working people. This all started when huge quantities of public owned rented homes were sold off.
I love this channel, and watch avidly. It seems to be both depressing and hugely entertaining in equal measure.😀👍
Have you heard of Louis Rossmann here on youtube? He noted that many landlords in New York are doing the same. They will keep it vacant rather than lower the rent. There is an entire series here on youtube as he goes through the Commercial Real Estate in New York. Mostly during the pandemic - 2020-2021.
He also showed how they would out and out lie about the size of the unit
So what's the long-term point of this strategy? It doesn't seem to make financial sense for the owners unless they know something we don't.
imagine you are an owner of building and the retail space is worth on the market, let's say 20 million. You can go back to bank, and get a mortgage against that retail space worth of 20 million. Now that's all good and dandy if the market is stable. If it is not, and your valuation drops from 20 million down to 5 million. Now the bank is losing money on your mortgage. So nobody wants to come to terms that the properties were overvalued and everybody tries to weather the storm and live in denial as long as they can. @@alihenderson5910
@@alihenderson5910 Seems to me they are just putting off the inevitable as is human nature
@@D_B_Cooper That doesn't make any sense.
The retail centres are not the main cause of the death of the high street in cities, the local councils caused it, retail centres are the reaction to it, and now the internet is hammering the final nail into the coffin. I stopped going to Sheffield city centre, not because of Meadowhall, but because of car parking prices, traffic mismanagement schemes, and the council utopian dream of forcing motorists out of the city in favour of public transport, I am not driving 9/10ths of the way there to swap to a bus or tram. I don't live in the city, and I have my pick of Derby, Sheffield and Nottingham, but the problems are the same.
So the councils chased us motorists away, and with the exorbitant business rates and costs to be on the high street the retailers reacted by moving to the retail parks, followed by the motorists. Then the internet came along, and Covid forced us onto it, we found the ability to compare prices, have it delivered next day, not have to deal with traffic and parking charges, and we got used to that. The retail parks, and the internet have tempted us away from the high street, by offering a better experience, while there spaces on the high street were filled with charity shops, vape shops, Turkish barbers, betting shops et al.
Have the city councils tried to tempt us back? no, no they have not, they have continued to increase traffic schemes with camera enforced bus lanes punishing you for making an honest mistake, increased parking charges as they try to maintain the income from fewer visitors, increased costs and business rates for the retailers, it's all stick and no carrot.
If the high street is ever to thrive again as it used to be the councils need to give their heads a wobble, and offer us an experience we want to have, they have to wake up and realise they are in competition with retail parks and the internet, they do not deserve our support, they have to earn it.
Great video btw - I'll be checking out your other videos.
yup I agree with you a 100% councils are to blame for all of this hopefully they wake up before it's too late
Agree 100%
Agreed, though check out smaller towns across the country, they've got much cheaper parking and local businesses are more able to thrive there in similar ways to retail parks. In-person shopping isn't dead, as online retail has many disadvantages, it is just another source of competition. Like you say the biggest reasons are the incompetent councils and nationwide economic downturn
I dated a girl from Leeds in 2016/2017. We were both college at the time and were fairly skint, so we spent a lot of time dossing around Leeds City centre. This was like a sad game of spot the difference. The Halifax branch closing surpirsed me, I knew I recognised the location and shape of the building, but it's not until you showed the Google street view that the memories came back.
Same but earlier and in a city up north. 2010 ish. We would hang around the city centre and it was packed. The mall was packed. Shops all over and selling all sorts. Vintage shops, camera shops, independent fashion shops, game shops, comic shops etc etc.
Now, it’s either an empty lot or a food outlet. Even the Disney shop closed…
Intu has a lot to answer for because they bought most of the city centre malls in the country during the recession, did them all out and used the renovation to hike up rents. And we can see how that worked out.
@@EvgeneXI York, by any chance?
Two Halifax branches have closed in Leeds, the Headrow one, and one across from the market up that precinct. Only the one near Trinity remains.
Banks and building societies serve no function on the High Street anymore. I went to one in my home town to ask a question and was told to go online to find the answer. The bloke is doing himself out of a job.
The city centre is much better now. That's the fact. He has literally walked to every single vacant shop and videoed it. I go to the city centre twice a week, never been so vibrant and so many new bars and restaurants. Retail is adjusting but vacant shops don't stay vacant for long. The guy is a liar.
Wow, leeds was the place be 10/15 years ago 😳 if an amazing city like leeds can't survive, then there really is no hope for the rest of the uk ! Keep up the good lad 👦 great job .❤
Leeds is still thriving pal! 👍
According to the data, Leeds is still growing and doing much better than the rest of the UK.
@@Brynson87 true fact 💯 leeds is now the shop lifting 🫴 capital of England 🏴
In all fairness. He gave trinity like 10 seconds of footage and it’s one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe
Leeds isn't just surviving, it's booming, the video is pretty misleading.
Problem with Leeds City centre is that they keep on opening new shopping centres and the others die. Now Trinity is *the* shopping centre of Leeds - Merriorn Centre, The Core, The Light, St John's Centre and Victoria Gate - meanwhile there's no green space in the city at all and the riverside is underitilised.
Apparently, Leeds Council wants to knock down the Core to make student flats. Just mental. I’m near University of Leeds and I can’t see all the students who now walk to campus, moving to the Centre and using the bus.
I'm so glad that Leeds Council, property developers and directors at Leeds Council spent millions on building apartments and upgrades in prep for HS2..
Which now isn't coming to Leeds. It's a nice little F you that warms my heart..
There are a few green spaces in the city centre, such as Park Square.
Is the big green space development near the Tetley still planned?
@@katharinecourtney6664 The first major phase of the new park is complete and open to the public; the park is called Aire Park..
It's set to be the largest city centre public park in the UK, however it was meant in anticipation of HS2, particularly to serve the inhabitants of all the new apartment buildings that have being built around the Tetley. This area would have been the first sight of Leeds from the HS2 bullet-train so it was given high priority, but now, it's just another expansion of the city..
There was a plan to use this green space and a decommisioned railway bridge to host live events, a railway rooftop garden etc., but again, I think these ideas have now been shelved..
I love being taken out and about on these interesting tours with Wandering Turnip! Thank you! 🙏
Interestingly The Core (the mostly dead arcade with the closed down gym) is being demolished and converted into student flats. So some pretty positive news there
Just before warhammer the closed up restaurant was actually a really important building historically for retail. That was the original Montague Burtons of Burtons Menswear. Queen even visited! Great video, some of the shops like Patesserie Valerie and Clinton’s only shut in last few weeks. The indoor market also had to have a refurb due to leaking roof and a lot of traders relocated for new fit outs so hopefully those units will soon be filled.
Your videos are outstanding! You get it so totally right - perfect balance of first hand investigation, light hearted comments, genuine outrage, balance, smooth delivery, research, imagination when it comes to editing, and a love for our country. Worth repeating - outstanding!
Definitely! 👍
Totally agree, I can't get "Hot milkshakes, what a load of twaddle" out of my head. Though 🤔😅
15 years ago Leeds city centre was the jewel of Yorkshire in my opinion , I'm originally from Sheffield but always prefered Leeds for shopping and drinking not been for about 6 years as I now live in Kent but as this video shows its on the slide such a shame ☹ Great video Dave thanks for the upload👍
Leeds still is, this video absolutely doesn't do it justice.
@@Benji567891 Glad to hear it , like i said not been for a long time just going on this video ❤Leeds 👍
@@Benji567891
A lot of vape shops in city centre
Great Video Wandering Turnip, you are not depressing, the TRUTH is depressing, love the way you go back in time and show what a building once was, watching from Alberta.
At the time you visited The Core it was set to close as it is being demolished to make way for 3 blocks of student flats with retail units. Lots of the stores were closed down due to this. The shops outside the market are closed but have been given new fronts and are under the LCC rejuvenation project. Good video mind 🙂
The white rose centre of years ago was brilliant, now it’s absolutely dire!
I used to live in Middlesbrough and when Binns (I think) closed down they opened the huge space up to small independent traders, letting them have a space for a reduced rent to build up their business and see if it was viable. It turned a huge empty space into a buzzing environment.
It's great someone cares about the future of the UK, and it is time to talk about this...
Love this channel!your only showing the disgusting reality of what the corporates and government have done...councils have a lot to answer for too they do not care,push people online so they can track us!keep speaking the truth and showing what's really happening😢
I do wish people would stop saying the Government want to control us.
Don t give them ideas
Brexit means brexit. All the Best Frombork Poland.
Your videos are honest and truthful. I look forward to your videos. I think that greed is not far away from the death of the high street! People are afraid of change? Excellent video!
Mate this is a phenomenal video. I’ve lived in leeds since 2013, in town 2022-2024 and I can’t believe how many of they stores have closed. I was surprised that so many have closed myself. And driving into town….it’s absolutely ridiculous. It doesn’t help that they are building something ALL THE TIME!
Even the night life sucks these days
These videos aren’t depressing they’re good bro, I like how you’ve an interest for outdoors and your knowledgeable and becoming more knowledgeable it’s all for good purpose if your enjoying yourself as well as teaching people about these places, love your videos keep em coming!!🤘
You're doing an amazing job exposing the truth of the high street, hopefully at some point some MPs take notice and actually try and change something, we can but hope...
You not realised yet . They hate you.
😂
Its quite simple the solution. The city centres are too big where I live we have the city centre, two side markets and a shopping centre. Why we aren't a big city so the centre is struggling lots of boarded up areas. Bless the city council though they tried to rent it out to small popups but nothing ever stuck.
Too many people just buy from online shops. Real shops cant and wont ever be able to compete. Its the free market baby ! the online shops don't need to pay high rents and floor room staff.
Take the advantage of city centres reduce it, beef up security and make it a wholesome small area rather than trekking all over town to each little small sections.
Mate ignore the naysayers you are class, and you are raising awareness to these issues while also taking us on tours around these interesting areas. Our household loves your vids. Keep up the good work mate
You are the first British person I understand. I am learning English, and I enjoy watching your videos even without subtitles. Thanks a lot! 🥰
Having been a retailer in Leeds for over twenty years,
Now closed.
Rent and Rates far too high.
No free Parking,
Very difficult driving around Leeds Centre .
I lived in Leeds from 1966 to 1985, when I migrated to Australia. The Leeds you show may as well be on a different planet to the city I knew. I could walk from Meanwood into the city centre along back lanes and through woods and never needed to cross a main road until almost the old Merrion Centre. And the city centre was worth visiting, for clothes, shoes, restaurants etc. The UK is definitely doing something wrong. We have lots of malls in Melbourne, all doing well but as they grow, they create the same blight on other businesses in the area as they suck in all the trade. But we're helped by Oz cities sprawling so much, you have to drive to the mall but if you want to walk, you can walk to your local shopping strip, most of which are vibrant and which exist in every suburb. They have pretty much everything you need, from grocers to restaurants to doctors/dentists.
Loiners would be able to tell you that the route from Meanwood into the city centre still exists, as it pre-dates the development of Leeds into a city and connects the Yorkshire Dales with Leeds town centre, being traditionally used for the transportation of sheep to market.
It is not the UK that is doing something different, corporate capture of government enables capital to dictate how things are done, which is exactly what happens in Australia. Density of population in central Glasgow and Edinburgh still support some local retail, as is also the case in some Leeds suburbs.
As you have noted, having some local retail outlets is not unusual in legacy Australian suburbs, unlike the many new build ones that surround the major conurbations. They are unlikely to have local retail, public transport, healthcare, or other fundamental aspects of community.
Greetings from a rapidly declining Southend.
Thank you for the great vids.
I am watching from Colchester and it's the same here.
So sad how it has deteriorated.@@solsticepilgrim
Colchester is starting to look the same as Leeds, a number of closed shops and out-of-town shopping@@mr.13zn83
Same in Hull.
I travel around the UK with work, mainly fishing towns and ports, they are all struggling
this news gives me a rapidly declining erection
Fantastic your videos, ignore the haters because you’re showing the realities of in town retail buildings that really should be converted into housing (studios or better) they don’t like it. It’s not illegal it’s a public space.
Your content is absolutely top notch, well informed and well balanced, not just with this video but with every video of yours that I have watched. Your vibrant personality and genuine enthusiasm for what you are doing shines through in every video. Please don't let the occasional whinger in the comments section change your outlook. Do you realise that you are actually documenting the current state of our high streets, with reference to their individual history in such an accurate way that it will be a valuable resource for folk to enjoy learning from for decades to come. You should be proud of yourself. I wish you & your channel every success. Keep on keepin on pal.
If you look at other countries that still have a booming centre, you’d soon realise that it’s primarily powered by restaurants.
Restaurants is what motivates people to go to the centre. Being able to buy stuff there is an extra.
The problem is the UK has an awful culinary industry. Restaurants here offer fairly low quality food for high prices. There is so little value in it, that most people don’t bother eating out.
In those other countries, you are barely paying any premium for a meal to be freshly cooked to a more than adequate standard than trying to make it yourself at home.
Most British restaurants are "posh microwave meals" controlled by the Establishment and offering sh1te. They don;'t even ask you "how is your meal" nowadays. It's the same everywhere and makes people think "why bother|. All chains, no individual character.
Government would rather have tax avoiding mega companies, Amazon etc., employ people than have shops open on a vibrant high street? Weird.
Brilliant episode! Really enjoyed it! 👏 10:50 👏 The 'shouty' rude folk are a thorn in the side of hard working channels like this.. but even negative comments help the algorithm so we'll look on the positive side.. 🌹😄 Looking forward to the next _Made in Britain.._ This channel's going places!
Depressing.. no!Just truthful.. When Turnip's buzzin' it lifts my spirits! 😅
For those who have not been to Leeds, don’t let this out you off. Leeds is as good as any city in England and feels really clean.
Leeds still have a football club 😒???
You need to get to Specsavers pal. Leeds city centre is filthy.
@@madwatermelon1316 it seems cleaner than Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow, which I regularly visit! 👍
I like Leeds for the space and the architecture and the amount of stuff there is to do, but 'clean' is not a word I would use to describe it.
@@DMWBN3Haha. Obviously we do.
Your work reporting on the state of towns in Britain is amazing journalism
Amazon is a major reason for all these closed shops
And Tescos, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Asda
Worth noting that The Core shopping centre is actually been closed down and the building is been turned into student accommodation so all the shops have moved out. It used to be a great arcade before it got refurbed around 2010ish and they made it into a disjointed space to walk around.
I have been watching your powerful videos. Just amazing!! Me being a retailer, cant feel less sadness for these fellows losing out to online menace and our selfish politicians. I personally know and spoke to some of those shopowners in Kirkgate , small butchers, fishmongers, bakery, they were almost forced out when they did the regeneration . Many closed ( like the butchers row, in your video) shamefully would have expected a labour run council to be more sympathetic to little people ,sadly no. But hats off to you mate ,doing a great job. Bring those bureaucrats, council bosses to the front. Let them answer whether a denerating city justifies their 3 figure salaries?
This channel is one of the best channels around. Interesting and informative 👍 👌
Leeds is a ok. Isn’t massively dilapidated whatsoever. I love a bit of Leeds. Moved back to Manchester but Leeds a solid city
I go Manc more, but Leeds has something about it. Underrated city imo.
Hard put finger on it. Leeds is rustic and small big city feel all in one. It's friendly. Or friendlier than other northern cities @@GarethSewell1982
@@zzhughesd deffo as good as anywhere in the north mate, good city! 👍
I’m from further up the road and whenever I visit Leeds, it feels like a modern world class city. They always repurpose old buildings in Yorkshire, and it has some of the best architecture in the UK.
For me it’s because Leeds is so anti-car. I’m not paying all that money for parking. When so many people think like that, what customers are cities left with? The poor, and druggies who just hang around there. That’s why there’s no shortage of pound shops and tacky, chavvy clothes shops.
Loving all your video walks, nice warm voice, friendly and interesting
I must admit, I thoroughly enjoy your videos, David. I certainly do not find them depressing, just interesting and factual. It is sad that our shopping habits are changing, but who knows? As you say, things might suddenly change again. In our town (Leamington Spa) we do pretty well and shops that do become vacant are generally soon rented out again. Keep up your marvellous trips and comments! All the best.
I love what you do. You are shining a light. It’s not depressing; it’s real. So keep doing what you are doing. We need people like you.
Used to visit Leeds all the time around 2000 when I was with my ex. It’s changed so much! The corn exchange was a dark and dingy place and now. Wow!
Great video. Subbed!
I'm actually gobsmacked. I went to uni in Leeds and did a full time job after for a year between 2014-2018. I absolutely loved my time there and pretty much all the stores that have been shown on this video were in business still. Used to love just walking around the shops and around the city with my earbuds on. Glad the market is still going I used to get the equivalent of about 40 chicken breasts for 20 quid. BARGIN! I recently found out that Wire nightclub had finally closed which is sad. Was an awesome little venue.
It's really sad to see just the utter state our country has become. Videos like this really put into perspective of where our country is heading. Thank you for taking your time to make these videos. It really makes the people who have worked hard for these businesses seen and heard.
I think your videos are great mate. It’s sad to see large name shops having to share space as a means to afford an in person sales experience. As a Brit now living in the US your video’s help me when I miss home. I often have a picture painted in my mind of what the UK is, but that is of the UK in 2000 to 2011. I hope there is a way through this decline. Thanks for your great content.
Visiting the UK from Canada - my favourite thing to do is visiting the High Streets. So sad. Leeds is one of my fave cities!
I forgot to add, I am a new sub :)
We're seeing now that casino capitalism doesn't work...never did...it just takes time before bad models prove unworthy...and collapse...the fruit is in the eating of the pudding as they say...in this particular case...Yorkshire Pudding...nice when used as a Pizza actually...
i moved from tod to leeds a few years ago. the best parts of leeds are around the edges.
there are some grand old victorian builds in the centre. it would be great if the replacement to retail could do them justice. maybe leisure and education are the future of the inner city.
Mate I love the videos you do. The stuff you and Wendall do is some of my favourite stuff on UA-cam, highlighting the issues we all see in modern Britain. You are a credit to yourself and your nation ❤
Great video, as always.The reason why the Core was so empty as, in line with your thinking, the retail units and gym have all had to vacate as it is being re-developed as student accommodation.Hopefully the shops will move into some of the vacant units that you highlighted.
From Australia, keep up the good work, It is so informative.
You could easily turn your video into a positive one by walking in front of the University of Leeds ( or Manchester etc). Go photograph some international students from China or India.
Each student pays 5,000 GBP pa for tuition, 3,000 pa for accommodation, 1,000 pa for transport plus 2,000 pa for food. that’s $11,000 GBP per year. Now multiply by 500 students.
Now apply the economic Multiplier effect ie x4 for each pond spent in Leeds or Manchester or wherever.
These students need somewhere to live and work and get to university. Go to Denmark…have a look around Aalborg and see the transformation going on there in the run down parts of town. It is now a thriving small town.
These older English owns have a natural advantage as living costs are cheap.
Celebrate what the UK can do with the export of university services. That is a good news story!
Love this channel. You really bring in home the evolution taking place in our town centres.
When I was growing up, the weekend meant heading to the town centre with your mates. It was buzzing day and night.
That was in Hull and the centre is in a real mess now. It would be great to see you visit and see what you think.
After the war, Hull Council had a architect redesign the town centre for the 'modern' age and it was a radical idea and it worked for years.
It has lost that glory, but i think it can be rescued. Centres need to look away from these big organisation, like boots, jd sports etc who get reduced business rates, pay little if any tax and encourage and grow the local, home grown solutions. Encourage and support peoples ideas and creativity and let them share their passion with their community. Give them a year or two rates and rent free.
Malcolm X used to encourage people to shop in shops ran by people from the communities beccause a pound spent in the shop stayed in the community wereas a pound spent in Tesco, leaves that community.
The Brixton brick is a similar idea.
Come and have a stroll around Hull
Fantastic show, so impressed how well Leeds is doing, compared to a lot of places. Keep up the good work of investigating what is actually happening in our country. 👍
✌️💚🇬🇧
The corn exchange used to be an alternative shopping centre. The below floor used to be full of alternative shops and rows of black hoodies. It was amazing. Changed so much now.
The bottom and top floors were empty. Only the main floor had ships on it.
Cyberdog!
Dark Angel, Hippy Potter Mouse, Grin, Cyber Dog, etc... it was a great place to shop.
"The lost shops of Leeds" should be horror movie title with the way you said it :D
I've worked in Leeds in 2012 and 2013 as a contracted specialist for a development studio which had an office at The Headrow and I lived at Saxton. I would walk to and from work each day and really enjoyed it. The city was amazing back then, so much activity, shops, pubs, clubs and stuff to do around it, and a relatively short bike trip to Yorkshire Dales with its amazing trails. I would spend a lot of time at Kirkgate Market, Trinity, The Core and other places, visited Royal Armouries several times and would walk, run or ride along the Aire or do bike trips along Leeds-Liverpool Canal. So many good memories. I told myself that I would return one day for vacation to visit my favourite places and ride at Dales once again. Brexit and then the pandemic forced me to postpone those plans and now watching this video and seeing what happened to most of those places breaks my heart.
Mate I love your channel. You are showing the common frustration of many people in the UK. Also, I love your more positive stuff. Tom is a top-class furniture maker.
I like that you show real life and throw out thought provoking commentary 👏👏the Core in Leeds used to have a fab food court on the top floor...
Love the videos. There is a massive surge in businesses collapsing locally in 2024 where I am. Many of them have existed for decades but the costs to operate just came excessive. Most are closing voluntarily and orderly because they feel responsibility to customers. Won’t appear on gov insolvency stats thus as they avoided that, but will distort the reality.
Hi, so the major creation of this shutdown is the EPR empty property relief being the avoidance of property owners having to pay rates for upto 6 months then renewing thru a loophole or circumvention. Rents not affordable to sustain businesses. Surely they created it for there own back pockets. Consultation on policy nkw happening, hopefully change is coming 🙏
I`ve been an avid charity shopper who lives in Leeds. At least half the charity shops have closed due to rent increases after lockdown but they are now empty because greedy landlords think they are worth more than they actually are. So they have lost a steady tenant and all income 🤣 good video mate showing what a country ends up like after 14 years of tory rule
Lived in Leeds all my life (34 years) driving into Leeds has been horrific since they bus gated it all. Wasn’t too bad a few years ago. I always get the bus now if I need to go into Leeds city centre. In regards to the White Rose centre I worked in River island for 7 years pre covid. Once that hit it wiped out a chunk of the centre. All of that boarded up section used to be all of the Arcadia shops, Top man etc.
They ruined your indoor and outdoor market. Best in the country. Or it used to be...
I know I am a resident of Leeds the LCC has messed up this city 😢 big time
Brilliant film again WT. What’s really noticeable is that the lack of parking, convenience, cleanliness and safety are drivers in consumers choosing out of town shopping centres. Then the cleanliness, cost, convenience and safety of public transport are also relevant. Politicians are the key theme in all of the urban decay and squalor failing to address these.
Great Video. It makes me smile when, if you enter a shopping center to film as you do, the security may tell you to stop as it is illegal to film there saying that the center is private property. The filming of private property may well be banned by the centers' owners, but filming there would not be a criminal offense, only a matter of trespassing, which is a civil offense. A slap on the wrists thing. If they ask you to leave, just leave, as they can't do anything against you anyway.
from Leeds, that Halifax closed recently just moved like 3 streets down towards Trinity :D Nice to see others point of view of the city
Same further up north, town center dead, no free parking killed it first... High rent /rates just destroyed it ♥️🇬🇧
Not at all depressing. Very interesting and especially when you do Google Earth to see what the closed shops once were. Keep doing what you do it's a great channel for me to watch. I left Britain to move to South Africa 17, years ago so it's nostalgic.
It's so interesting you put in the rent/rates costs for traders at Kirkgate Market. Serious money! Loved the vlog
The Millennium Wheels were a thing. They were only ever intended to be temporary (few years) structures, yet still going strong.
Yeah and they cost about £10 or more to go round slowly for a couple of minutes. Rip off.
That long row of empty units inside Kirkgate Market has only just been completely remodelled, which is why they're empty. A huge amount of money is currently being spent on the markets.
Great observation about the scandal of building housing on greenbelt and open land when there are so many fine but empty buildings in city centres that could be converted into housing.
Empty commercial properties should be charged 400% rates to encourage owners to lease out.
Yep spot on
Same with empty office space. don't know how big an issue that is in the UK, but over here it's quite a thing, even before the Pandemic, yet they still build more instead of places for people to live in, which is desperately neeeded. They whine about the "death of the inner cities" and blame online shopping and working from home, yet having people actually live there doesn't seem to be a solution to them.
Left Leeds a decade ago, the City Centre used to be packed, just a mass of people.
It is packed now, you can't move for people on a weekend
Lots of people is bad , we are designed for small communities
Top man! Your videos are great....never felt them depressing! Informative and honest, just how we like you mate....thanks for another great video ❤
First one I’ve seen. Bit depressing at all, he’s simple shoring what’s happening in realtime to the high street in uk.
I live in Hove, nr’ Brighton & same happening here.
Church road, the main drag in Hove has Co-op, big Tesco & now a triple shop to be Sainsbury’s.
Independent traders don’t stand a chance v’s these three shops.
I try to shop local where I can, but the locals are just disappearing.
Ive watched most of your vlogs..you put passion into them all whether it be the high street,wall building or the coal industry. You are informative interesting knowledgeable and pleasant to watch and listen to..All the best to you
The Light is the most expensive place to park in Leeds (that I'm aware of).
I'd choose Woodhouse Lane (the Council owned multi-storey, so fees go into services) or Merrion Centre. Obviously there is on street parking too, but the fees for on street are designed to encourage shorter stay.
Enjoyed the video - well presented and a sad but true reflection of reality.
We don't drive into Leeds when it's £2 on the bus. I do toy hunt videos all the time in Leeds.
"What a load of twaddle.' You're completely right oc. All the nice places like bakeries and small bookshops and independent coffee places going bust, replaced by stupid temporary concepts for a quick buck. And endless outlet 'stores'. The owners of the buildings, as you explained so well, keeping on to what they feel is the 'intrinsic value' of their real estate, whereas in reality they let the heart be taken out of the bigger urban organism. Well, that's capitalism for you, right...
Great comment. There are some brilliant observations here. If only our elected leaders would pull their heads from their arses, stop chasing their three minutes on Look North and take a proper look at channels like this on UA-cam.