Store closures new blow for town centre
FOR all the people involved in the regeneration of Stockport town centre, I am sure that the recent closures of a number of our large stores and businesses must be a cruel blow to their plans and ambitions for the future prosperity of the borough.
I think people realise though that a good measure of what happened is not the fault of the council or local politicians, rather it is the direction of society in general.
Unfortunately people everywhere are not using their high streets or town centres in the way that we used to. Many people drive to out of town shopping centres where they can park for free and load up their vehicles with their goods.
The government could help councils, local retailers and the environment, by raising fuel taxes nominally.
The internet method of shopping has its shortcomings but has nonetheless had a detrimental effect on profit margins and jobs in a good number of our retail outlets.
One of the immediate problems we now are faced with , because of these changes, is what to do about large empty premises. It seems to me that the present approach to dealing with empty 60s and 70s office blocks, by converting them into desirable apartments and even hotels, is also the best way forward with these large department stores.
As well as apartments developed in this way, we can, of course, look forward to some new build flats. The artist’s impressions for a 22 storey tower block at Piccadilly, housing 184 apartments, look very impressive.
So a lot of good work is planned for Stockport centre and plenty of projects have been completed these last 10 years. More of the same is required, but something new is needed also if we are to become more dynamic.
Free car parking, beer festivals and foodie fridays are out. It is our minds which need feeding, not our stomachs. It is our hearts, legs and lungs which need exercising, not our driving skills.
It should not surprise anyone that projects which would facilitate this vital cultural shift are the very same ones which would entice visitors and businesses alike to our town. So what extra changes would help these things along?
More has been made of the river Mersey and more needs to be done, especially downriver of King Street West. If we want tourists, we need to give them at least some small specific moments, where they thought their journey was not a complete waste of time.
By far the largest visitor groups to London in the last 12 months were American.
Where are the statues for them to look at? Let us see a 10-foot statue to our greatest naval hero, Lord Horatio Nelson, a same size statue of liberty and a monument to the courageous suffragettes, also 10 foot high.
Stockport’s history is colourful and absorbing. Everywhere we should see evidence of that rich vein of potential being tapped into.
A normal castle overlooked the River Mersey on the sandstone bluff at Twist Dale until the 1770s.
A development of apartments and souvenir shops at that location, themed on a castle would give us and tourists alike a sense of identity and of our past,
An empty pyramid building need not be another nail in the coffin. Consider it as a glorious opportunity. When its potential has been exploited it will become a massive advert for the western gateway to central Stockport and all that is great about our growing town. John Tyers Marple