Town centres dying a death and Loughbrough is no exception

AS SOMEONE who has lived in and around Loughborough for 40+ years, I can only concur with the sentiments of the writer of a letter, that appeared in a recent edition of The Times.

Town centres are dying a death and Loughborough is no exception.

To walk through it now on any day other than a market day is depressing. The cliché about bookies, pound stores and charity shops definitely applies, as does the one about the number of empty units.

I mean, how long did Morrison’s Local last in the old TSB unit before they realised that their presence in that location was unviable? And how close is the landlord to replacing them as a tenant?

One solution, and one that would also promote local identity, would be for local councils to subsidise business rates for local, independent retailers.

And, why not subsidise such reductions by reviewing the rates paid by bookmakers? And, dare I say it, charity shops.

Our own closures are far from over. In addition to knowing for a fact that a number of long-standing ‘family’ retail businesses are not going to be passed into the hands of the next generations, I also believe that the next sectors to realise that ‘bricks-and-mortar’ retailing is not for them will be travel agents and fashion. Most of those will close before it is too long.

Also, stop granting planning permission for new-build retail and instead, incentivise a move back to the centres.

Unless Charnwood borough council gets its act together and deals with this ‘exodus’ in very short order, the centre of Loughborough will become ‘ghostly’... and before people question this hypothesis, I can confirm that is already that way compared to even a decade ago.

And once the ‘attractive’ retailers go, then the food and drink providers will surely follow. As I say, it’s a spiral.

Nick Hardy