BRITAIN'S bleakest "ghost town" is today revealed as the once bustling shopping centre of Altrincham.
More than 30 PER CENT of the stores stand empty and boarded up in previously packed streets that are now a forest of To Let and For Sale signs.
Historic Altrincham — eight miles from the throbbing city centre of Manchester and once considered "posh" — now has the highest rate of vacant retail units in the country.
Locals point out grimly that one of the few new shops to appear in recent months is a Pawn-Your-Gold store.The town, which has had a market since the 13th Century, is one of many devastated by the recession.
Shopkeepers struggle to make a living as customers' confidence is shattered in a country where latest figures show that one in five households has NO ONE with a job.
But Altrincham — population 41,000 — is particularly badly hit because of an ever-widening North-South divide in the nation's prosperity.
It tops a league table of 50 ghost towns where the rate of empty shops is increasing. Only nine are south of the Midlands.
Altrincham's "vacancy rate" of 30.04 per cent is up 8.67 per cent on the year. Close behind are Blackpool on nearly 29 per cent, Dewsbury, West Yorks, at 27 per cent and Bradford, West Yorks, at 25 per cent.
The town still has big-name stores such as House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, Boots, Waterstones and WH Smith. But beyond the main shopping street, small independent traders find life tough.
Newsagent Mike Phillips is barely breaking even. He said: "We've been here for three years and it's a hell of a lot quieter.
"The main Grafton shopping centre is in administration and they are apparently finding it difficult to find new tenants.
Sad state ... figures show top 10 'ghost towns'
"Rental values have plunged. We pay £25,000 a year plus another £12,000 in business rates. But I've heard some landlords are giving six months' free rent just to get people in. If the places are empty they are stuck with the rates.
"I think it's mainly down to the recession. If the town centre is to fight back we need a lot of help from the council.
"We are just about breaking even and the council has got to help. The only change I've seen up this end in the last year is a new tree."
Jason Sandbach, boss of Snugworld Beds Ltd, said: "It surprises me that Altrincham has come top of this list. People think of it as posh.
"But McDonald's pulled out and I guess that says something."
Another shopkeeper said: "Just look at the empty units, they speak for themselves."
Barbara Hallwood, chief executive of the Sale and Altrincham Chamber of Commerce, put on a brave face about the town's plight.
She said: "Twelve months ago things were in a bad way, but in 2010 we have seen a lot of shoots growing."
But experts last night warned that many of the shops in northern towns and cities may NEVER be taken over as shopping patterns change.
Matt Hopkinson, of the Local Data Company that compiled the ghost town list, said: "With the growing power of supermarkets and the internet some of these places will never have shops again.
"The philosophy underpinning this administration is to shrink the State for good. For some northern centres, this could be the perfect storm."
The average high street vacancy rate across the UK has edged up from 12 to 13 per cent since January.
Scores of big name chains collapsed during the recession, including Woolworth and MFI. New shopping malls in cities have also sucked business from neighbouring towns.
Pound shop chains are among the few retailers who are spending money on new stores and looking for sites.
Mr Hopkinson's company, which collects retail data in 1,400 towns, thinks the North will be particularly badly hit as Government spending cuts bite.
Other experts name Middlesbrough, Mansfield and Stoke-on-Trent as areas that are particularly vulnerable from public sector cutbacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment