High Streets lose £200 Million this year

Chatham High Street

As people charge to do battle in our town centres this time of year and manners and courtesy are forgotten in a frenzy of last minute shopping, £200 Million business will be lost nationwide from town centres.

This isn't directly due to the deficit and crunch times and people not spending money - it's people like me who have taken their money to the Internet.

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts I cannot abide shopping - except for book shopping which up until I got a kindle for my birthday, was a major vice. I can't resist the pull of a book shop, the feel or smell of a new book that - any way moving away from that...
I don't like fighting through crowds and being jostled. I've made two trips to Chatham and that was more than enough for me.

Clearly others feel the same way and been estimated, according to the Metro, £200 Million has been sent on line with companies such as Amazon offering up to 70% off!
Not only is the Internet quick, quiet it's incredibly cheap and gets delivered to my door!
There's also the added bonus of not having to use public transport and car parking, in themselves painfully expensive and awkward. I hear nothing but bad things from drivers trying to navigate or park in Chatham. I must report that I used the Dynamic Waterfront Bus Facility yesterday for the first time and was fairly non-plussed but can see what people mean by walls ending short of the ceiling and it being exposed to the elements.

Internet companies can afford massive deals because they don't have the overheads that shop keepers have. A warehouse with a massive stock can be run with limited power, few staff and postage is paid by you. A shop holder has to buy stock, pay utilities, rents and taxes and live on the profits.

So what does this loss for the High Streets mean?

Well the bad thing is for small businesses who aren't part of a chain and cannot set up an Internet company. They tend to make money from overflow and people drifting in looking for bargains but if people aren't in the streets spending money they won't get any business.


Some of the models that I've painted



No where makes this more apparent than the Trafalgar Centre at the far end of the High Street. My favourite shop Maynes has closed down so now I have to go to Maidstone or Bluewater to get my Games Workshop fix. The rest of the centre is devoid of other shops, short of a newsagent, Tattoo parlour, Medway financing, a couple of random units and an Airfix model shop. The rest is a lifeless shell, even the toilets are out of order. It holds so much potential but there is nothing going on and no money coming in. The climate is not right for start up businesses and no one wants to risk their money, understandably.

The other people who make money from the Shopping season, food outlets, coffee shops, fast food eateries will also lose out on trade.

Is this a natural shift though? As I postulated before people don't have time, nor the desire to battle through towns to spend money when the with Amazon et. al. you can place your orders on your lunch hour at your desk rather than doing what I had to do on my Lunch hour- power walk from Lambeth to Westminster to get a Mug from the Parliamentary bookshop and then power back.

Needless to say though that Chatham High Street was rammed yesterday with a lot of Primark bags being carried and Debenams, Card Factory, MacDonald's, KFC, the Pentagon all very busy- even a queue to see Santa!

Conservatives Cock up Chatham Bus Station?

Chatham Bus station under construction.

Last Monday Medway's "Dynamic Water Front Bus Facility" opened to the Public with a number of things missing or still under construction. It was also running approximately 6 months late and £2 million over its original budget. Understandably there is a bit of a furor about the whole project.

Public response to the new facility or "Mushrooms" as it has been described by Medway resident Robin Juste Emery, has been fairly mixed.

It would have been a nice idea if they had just listened to what people were saying. There aren't enough seats, they aren't close enough to the stands and there are still no bins.
Says Mike Watson

Robin Cooper, the council's director of regeneration, community and culture said;

The Police advised us not to install bins, but we need to review this decision.

I have tweeted @Kent_police for confirmation but at the time of writing I have not received a response as to why they would advise this.

There were further criticisms about the exposed nature, one of the many comments about the exposed nature was from Shelia Purser;

It could have been more covered up. At least in the Pentagon you were dry.

Again Mr Cooper responds:

If people are shopping in the High Street in the rain, they will be getting wet anyway. Those who travel by bus are exposed to the elements, because the bus does not drop them home. The information centre which is heated will be available for shelter... If we need to redesign some aspects of the station we will.

So more expense? There seems to be a serious lack of vision. Yes I accept people get wet and cold waiting for buses however it was sheltered in the Pentagon and similar cover could have been provided.
Other criticisms include the information screens not working (They are now and they are going to get anti glare put on.) No toilets (they are waiting on the water company to finish pressurisation) No Zebra crossings (they had just applied anti skid treatment on the road and the paint would not adhere to it.) - The drivers have also been trained to drive at 10mph - but if you get hit by a bus at 10mph it still hurts and could Kill you!

Councillor Chambers has said that There will be teething problems and I accept there are things that will be overlooked but where you are running six months late it wouldn't have made a difference if they waited a further week to get it right or if they had made sure that the basics were ready for the opening day.

Understandably the other political parties have swooped in to criticise the Conservative administration for presiding over the troubled project.

In a press release on their website Cllr Glyn Griffiths, spokes person for Front line services stated;

Tories have poorly managed this project through out, and have clearly had no foresight at all.

Deputy party leader, the affable and  popular Cllr Vince Maple has been very outspoken about the whole project saying:-

The so called "dynamic bus facility" is just one - albeit very expensive fiasco in a growing list of ineptitude.

He is also quoted in Dan Bloom's article in the Medway Messenger [14-10-11] as saying;

Even though it has had an additional six months, clearly it still isn't finished. The public view is no surprise to me - it has been a very badly run project which doesn't have the confidence of the people of Medway.

Medway Liberal Democrat leader, the indomitable Cllr Geoff Juby was quoted in Max Evan's article in the Medway News [13-10-11]

We can't look back in Medway -we have to look forward in the hope that it's one way to save Chatham. That's what it's all about- saving Chatham as a shopping destination. I'm not sure it will, I hope it will, I hope I'm wrong. I hope investment will come here but all town centres are suspect at the moment.

I tend to agree with Geoff. Yes I am annoyed, like Cllr Maple, at the glaring errors and mismanagement of the whole project by the Conservative administration and I think some serious lessons need to be learned from it and the electorate should remember this in the next local election.

BUT

Medway town centres need regeneration and is in need of a breath of life. The other certainty is that the Pentagon bus station would have to be replaced eventually. Indeed Medway Council have revealed that there are serious plans for regenerating the waterfront, demolishing shops that are there and replacing them with office space, a national chain store (which has shown interest) and the future is looking good.
There is still a concern for the traders in the Pentagon by the public, one person felt that there Sainsbury's and Wilkinsons' would suffer. As predicted in this blog this is a strong possibility and already shop keepers in the Pentagon have already recorded a 30% drop in "On the day sales" for last Monday. However this may just be a blip in the figures that may not be attributed to the bus station, you'll just have to watch the figures over the upcoming months, the new station may be the step that was needed to save Medway's high streets.

So the Step was necessary and worth making however the way it was done so with a serious lack of vision.

Quotes from the Public and Cllr Chambers taken from KM [14-10-11] article by Dan Bloom
Quotes from Robin Cooper from Medway News [13-10-11]

Medway council failing local business?

Local news has recently been concentrating on traders suffering in Chatham High Street and one has to ask; Has Medway council failed the commercial areas or is this a blip on the radar that will sort itself out soon. Or as asked in http://gingerliberal.blogspot.com/2011/06/saving-medways-highstreets.html is this a slide away from traditional forms of shopping and moving online?

Last week's Medway News ran with the story that Chatham High street is being strangled by the never ending roadworks.

Businesses have already begun making redundancies, cutting hours and some are on the brink of closure. Guy Varley (of Varley's electrical store) says their business is down by 70%!
The council's regeneration scheme is being blamed with Ms Humphries of Internacionale being quoted as;

We were led to believe it (Road works and diversions) would be finished by Easter, now it's looking like the end of the year.

Other observers are pointing to less people buying or shopping and just hanging around- though I suspect that is because people no longer have the money for disposable goods. I myself haven't bought an X-box game in months, only one book in July and no Games workshop in god knows...
Incentives like free parking or buses to get people into the town are good ideas but only help a little bit, it is also a drain on the Public purse as the council have to subsidise the bus companies.

Medway council have, however, assured the people of Medway that the new bus station will bring about great change for Central Medway and will open at the end of the summer and;

Will be easier and more welcoming for shoppers
The also told the Medway News that they are working on ideas such as free parking and promotional campaigns that will encourage shoppers back into Chatham and are working closely with the Retailers to do this.
The new bus station will also rejuvenate the riverside area and has already had a positive affect on shops in the area - what it has definitely done though is shift the locus of trade another twenty feet towards Rochester and will probably hit the trade at the east end of town fairly hard - It is already fairly dead beyond the Trafalgar centre but now it is even further to walk! Other shops on the second floor of the Pentagon will also be hit. D and A toys would make quite a lot of money from parents taking their kids to the bus stops and either rewarding them for good behaviour or to silence them by buying a toy.


 I am starting to believe that lowering VAT would be a good move, I know that most of the cost is absorbed by the vendor and won't be passed to the consumer but it will mean small business will be given a respite. Although this is well out of reach for Medway Council to address.

Medway Labour have also come up with some other suggestions;

Using empty shops for community workshops and learning groups is a great idea however... where is the money for it coming from?Rent needs to be paid and as the council is fueling a £15 million reduction over 4 years money is at a premium. Also if a shop remains empty for long enough the landlord will lower the rent allowing a small start up business to afford the rent. Sounds good on the surface but on closer inspection falls flat.

Place a "Competition test" which would encourage commerce to compete and keep the prices low and competitive. As a Lib Dem and working class I think this is great. More shops will fill our high streets and allow the consumer choice. So thumbs up on this one.

The Retail advice clause scheme is again shiny on the surface but I think would fall flat on use. Yes communities and other retailers should have consultation rights and a say in what retail decisions are made and I'm sure other Lib Dems would agree BUT... Do people really care? We can't get enough of the populous to vote, turn up to council meetings let alone make themselves available to consult and you'd only get those who were Dead against a project turning up.

The modern shopper no longer has time to hit the high streets and shops. After long hours at work they want to spend time with their families, especially now, often, both parents work around child care and haven't got the time to go out shopping.

If there is to be a family shopping trip people don't mind driving out to Blue water or even Maidstone to do their shopping. In Blue water you can park inside, do your shopping, catch a movie, take the kids to the adventure playground, have dinner.... all under one roof (except the playground!) and the level of choice is MUCH better than a town centre.

This coupled with big company's able to undercut the small retailer, who still has to pay massive overheads on utilities and rent. The future for shopping, especially for small companies, in my opinion is definitely the Internet... Small ware house, few staff and overheads, more profit.

Despite the current hardships and the definite impact this elongated campaign of road works in Chatham we have to hope that the council is right and that the new bus station will encourage more shoppers and breathe life back into the heart of Medway. This economic down turn may also be caused by the current economic climate and the simple fact that we just don't have any money and no amount of new bus stations will help. We seem stuck between Conservative assurances that everything will be ok and to trust them their plans for the future or take faith in Labour's well meaning but flawed proposals.
Only time will tell.

If not.... Hello Bluewater and Maidstone.

In other news another Charity shop has opened in Gillingham high street.

Hundred hour pharmacies to strike Medway!

In Sturdee avenue - the closest to home I've ever had to write- the local pharmacy is preparing for a battering from a proposed Hundred hour pharmacy opening at the Woodlands Medical centre. The owners believe such a place would spell an end to the small pharmacy/ post office and would rip the heart out of the community. A flyer put through my door stated we couldn't allow what happened at Livingston Circus happen in Sturdee with the loss of Greengrocers and butchers.

Well, the greengrocers went when I was a boy of 8 and I don't recall a butchers, also I think Tesco probably did that with the Metro store next to the pharmacy. As for the heart of the community I cannot comment as I rarely use the pharmacy. However a while ago my daughter, Sophie, was really ill - maybe that's an exaggeration as a concerned first time father but she couldn't keep anything down, even water so at 5pm, unable to get a doctor's appointment we headed fro the NHS drop in centre. Armed with a prescription at 6.30 we went looking for an open pharmacy unaware there was one in Balmoral gardens. We had to spend a tense evening hoping she would be alright until first thing.

How much easier would it have been to have an open pharmacy just around the corner?
I do not like to see Local business collapse but I also need to be able to use a pharmacy and when I am not getting back from work until 8pm (having left at 8 am) what am I to do?
Also if you read the article in the KM and think this scenario is the same as one Chris Small (30) of Sturdee avenue... you'd be right. - he is me. Slight typo!

However, on the other side of the coin:

In Strood two 100 hour pharmacies have been proposed in Gun Lane and St Mary's medical centres, which will affect trade at the Bryant road and Williams Pharmacy. Diana Sands, an employee at Bryant road said.

Doctors just want to profit from it. They will be the landlords and the Pharmacies will pay them rent.

It is a blow to hear one surgery wanted a hundred hour pharmacy, then a few weeks after there was another one. We don't need them! (Quoted from KM Report by D-Bloom and R Hughes 22-7-11)

There is an odd loophole that states that when applying for the planning permission a pharmacy doesn't need to prove "Local need" as long as they are open for 100 hours. This is a definite unfair loophole and Mark Reckless MP for Rochester and Strood is looking into this. I do agree, this loop hole must be closed as this is unfair on local buisness that could be providing an adequate job at servicing the community.

To a degree these pharmacies are providing unfair competition to the original pharmacies but the landscape of shopping is changing - no longer does my wife sit at home able to do the shopping and pick up my prescriptions whilst I am working. She has to work too around looking after Sophie. Modern consumers want places open when they want to shop not when the shops are open, also for convenience it makes sense for a medical centre to dispense the medicine you need rather than have to go across town to a pharmacy. Time now equals money in value for the working people of England. I know it does for me!

Saving Medway's Highstreets

Recently in the local Press there was an article regarding the purchasing of a shop on Rochester High Street by a charity, I forget which one, and the fear of shop keepers and locals that the high street will become a haven for second hand shops and charity shops thus ruining the quaint nature of the Cathedral city.

The local Labour party are keen to blame the Council administration for the collapse of Gillingham and Chatham shopping centres and indeed they do have some points. The parking in Gillingham is atrocious and the road works and constant changes to the one way system and infrastructure of Chatham does put people off attempting to go into the town and the poor town management that has placed too many superstores on the outskirts that draw people away from small shop owners like green grocers, butchers etc . Prices have to go up in small shops so that they can pay their overheads and large faceless Supermarkets can and will always undercut them for price and draw in shoppers.

BUT

There are two factors that they haven't considered fully.

1.) Gillingham High street has been dying for years, decades even. As a boy I remember there were many more shops and even the parade of shops on Sturdee avenue had a green grocers several corner shops were scattered around the residential areas. Now most have been converted to houses or eaten up by Tesco or Co op chain stores who can afford to have lower prices than an individual shop keeper.
Gillingham has lost a lot of trade to Chatham high street and Hempsted Valley as it has more choice and larger shops. Hempsted has much better parking (free to boot) and with the 182 Bus route that runs from Twydall to Chatham runs handily (especially for me as it stops outside my house!!!) through Gillingham high street so a lot of people just travel down to Chatham.
Gillingham is therefore left with the bare essentials, mainly charity shops and cheap outlet stores like "The works" and "99p stores".

Chatham itself is holding its own, the Pentagon Shopping centre does house a good mix of high street names and offers plentiful choice and competition. I'm afraid to say that Rochester will eventually succumb to the same pressures although slowly as it does have a seasonal tourist base who are unaware of the draw of Chatham town centre.

It must also be remembered that one of the great temples to the Capitalist gods, Blue water, is less than an hour away, as is Maidstone.

2.) An economic shift away from shop owning to Internet retail.

The current economic situation is not condusive to shops, be they chain or individuals. Prices have risen on luxury items and the average house hold budgets can no longer stretch to buy the newest X-box games, or go overboard with the weekly shop. Charity shops and second hand stores are very helpful to people on a budget, after all my wife and I have managed to clothe Sophie in many good quality baby clothes that are second hand, her Moses basket was second hand and she always appears clean and smartly dressed for pennys rather than pounds. My wife purchases odd home ware and myself books again for pennys too.
Yes they aren't in keeping with the city of Rochester's Victorian aesthetic but they are functional and obviously popular with the wage slaves of Medway so why fight it?

It is the same trend that is killing local pubs, once a cornerstone of British society and any community, after all who wants to spend £3.50 on a pint of beer in a bar when you can spend £4.57 on a four pack of Kroenenburg and drink it in your own home, watch the footie match of your choice and smoke if you are that way inclined.

If the deaths of chains like Zaavi and Woolworths have taught us anything it is that large, popular stores can still go under BUT can successfully relocate to the Internet like Amazon. You can operate from a simple warehouse full of stock with a few workers mailing out to the customers home address for less overheads than an established shop thus can make more money.

It is indeed a worrying issue and no body would like to see their high streets die out however I fear that the situation is difficult to reverse and I would be genuinely interested to hear Medway Labour's plans on the matter as short of evicting the big super markets they will only be able to ease the situation with addressing the local issues like transport infrastructure.