There's a lot of out of town shopping as well with a proliferation of B&Ms etc.Is it as bad as Redcar?
It's a shame the way town centres even small ones like Stockton have declined over the decades. The internet, unemployment, low wages and general poverty are the main reasons. It would help if parking was free and plentiful. Maybe free or very cheap buses from the centres outlying estates would help. It won't happen though.