Retail issues in Sunderland city centre



Gene Hunt said:
There are a lot of good areas in Sunderland. There are new housing developments springing up all over and the houses are in big demand. Unfortunately most of these people must go elsewhere as when you do venture into town it’s full of the dregs of the earth.

However I will balance that by saying that the last time I was in Newcastle I thought that the place was looking really scruffy. I hadn’t been for a few years and was surprised at how run down Northumberland Street and its surrounding area was, and how many homeless people and scruffy chavs there were. They are heavily diluted by lots of City Centre workers and students though. Sunderland doesn’t have that luxury.
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Think every major town / city centre is the same. They are all in massive decline and as you rightly say, its often only the least affluent areas of society who are seen hanging about these centres.

look across Co. Durham - Durham City is dire, Spennymoor is almost at kiss of life stage, if not beyond that, Bishop Auckland shops all moved out of town to Tindall Crescent. Darlington is a ghost town, and that is just a few that I can think of off the top of my head

People tend to head towards out of town shopping centres or shop online.



The thread reminds me of people who complain about their local pub closing, but are lucky if they go in it once a year ( Christmas usually). These places are businesses and are trying to make a profit. they need customers to keep them viable, sentimentality does not keep them open
 
spen666 said:
Think every major town / city centre is the same. They are all in massive decline and as you rightly say, its often only the least affluent areas of society who are seen hanging about these centres.

look across Co. Durham - Durham City is dire, Spennymoor is almost at kiss of life stage, if not beyond that, Bishop Auckland shops all moved out of town to Tindall Crescent. Darlington is a ghost town, and that is just a few that I can think of off the top of my head

People tend to head towards out of town shopping centres or shop online.



The thread reminds me of people who complain about their local pub closing, but are lucky if they go in it once a year ( Christmas usually). These places are businesses and are trying to make a profit. they need customers to keep them viable, sentimentality does not keep them open
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In fairness, Darlington is doing quite well imo. Always quite busy whenever I've been, like going to Taylor's butchers there once in a blue moon. Middlesbrough and Stockton on the other hand though, both crippled by Teesside Park.
 
the size of them means they will just sit empty(theres still plenty empty BHS stores). No one wants a unit that big and the landlord is not going to redevelop them into smaller units. Developing them into up market markets doesnt work because people want to drive up to them plus the mill outlets in and around Manchester only survive on the owldies coach trips they get everyday
Ive had concessions in all types all over the country and if you dont have a huge car park youre gonna struggle......oh and some of the people behind these converted mills are as sketchy as fuck
this is my debenhams

 
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I can’t stand The Galleries - awful place. All of these retail parks that have opened up over the last 30-35 years (US model all predicated on car use) were the beginning of the end for centres in smaller provincial towns and cities like Sunderland, and the rise of online shopping is the final nail in the coffin.

Some horrendous short sighted policy decisions over many years has led us here. As well as deindustrialising places like Sunderland. Sad 😔
 
Wild Card said:
I'm not sure that it's like in Epping but I was thinking this morning on my commute.... When I was young ( born in 85) people went into Sunderland. There was an hourly bus into Newcastle that was full.

Now everything is Newcastle focused. Bus every 12 mins rammed every time. Decent jobs, all Newcastle central. It's been completely geared to get people to work, to work decent jobs and then the keep the money in the city.

Sunderland seems to have been left behind in that regard.

Even now. Newcastle is having a circa 8k capacity HMRC office built right in the city with limited carparking. People will be drawn even further into Newcastle while the local offices are shut.
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Tech company aims to create 150 jobs in Newcastle

This from today, proves your point. Private sector jobs on back of a govt. Dept. Sunderland just forgotten.
 
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