I spent a few days last week in a somewhat typical industrial town – for the purpose of a client site visit. Now, I’m not going to mention its name, as I would hate to cause its proud inhabitants any offence, but it is a town which has attracted huge industry over the decades, and should in theory be thriving. But it isn’t.
I arrived late afternoon so I could wander around the town before dinner – I was actually hoping to come across the mythical fountain pen which is rarely seen away from the online habitat these days (I failed, incidentally). As I walked around in the gale-force winds, which wouldn’t have helped my impressions of anywhere, I admit; I was struck by evidence of what used to be a prosperous and bustling town centre. The shop units are many, but those without boards and shutters are few. Sure, the council has attempted to hide the many empty units by the use of colourful, painted boards…but it only serves to highlight their number.
It is very similar in my own city centre – where the only brave entrepreneurs who open a business there sell fast food, nail treatments, and haircuts. Lots of places for haircuts, in fact. As I was blown around the almost empty streets, I wondered how a place with so much industry can attract so little ‘interest’. I don’t know for sure, but I concluded that many of the workers here must reside elsewhere – be it as commuters, or as workers away from home. For the former, they’ll be spending their money in their own locale during the week, and for the digs-dwellers, then their money only goes into national supermarkets and cut-price hostelries.
The town centre as it was presented to me, was in real danger of becoming a cliché, and this wasn’t helped by the small gang of hooded, illegal e-bike riders who careered past me at breakneck speed, and well within touching distance! But then…why not…it might as well get used as a playground…it certainly doesn’t seem to get used for commerce.
I find this deeply saddening, and wish I had the answers…is it having a University nearby which attracts the young, vibrant culture that this town is (hopefully) crying out for? I don’t know…but it must be galling for the locals when hearing about wonderful infrastructure projects which are announced on the news (as it was this week) – all expressed in terms of how that investment will get us all into London more quickly.
