Nottingham looks grim

[AskAwayAgain]

I live in the East Midlands a bit of a way from Nottingham. But we went into Nottingham to see a show. We had not been there since before the pandemic so I said to DH lets go in early and look around the shops beforehand and have something to eat.

I was really shocked by how awful the street from Marks and Spencers to Broadmarsh looked. Most shops closed and some that were open looked really tatty. I also had memories of the side streets being full of interesting gift shops, but most were gone.

Victoria Centre looked okay, but overall the City Centre was really poor and had little to offer, I am still shocked that a major City looks as bad as this.

Everyone who lives in derby doesn't think Nottingham is great. Some do but a lot do not. Leicester is no great thing either. They are all much of a muchness now. Empty shop units etc.

The Tories stole all the money.

Leicester has had a fortune spent on it I went to the comedy festival in Leicester in February and, having not been there for around 20 years, was so impressed. Lovely atmosphere on a Saturday night.

In the last 5 years my local London high st has lost Marks & Spencer's, Next, WH Smith's, Maplins, Mothercare, the body shop, BHS, a great fabric shop, the local post office, Dorothy Perkins, Tiger, even pound stretcher is gone. Some lovely independent cafes gone. Costa also gone.

It's so depressing. So many poor business practices and jobs lost. Much fewer options beyond shopping online now too which only exacerbates the issue.

I really enjoyed visiting Nottingham at Christmas - I suppose it depends where you’re coming from?

good transport to get there, and everything walkable or we were able to get the tram. Lots of shops to choose from and loved the food choices available. Had some lovely Thai, American style bbq and of course all the food stalls at winter wonderland.

yes there were shops closed but I didn’t notice anything different to anywhere else really.

Since the pandemic the world has got considerably poorer for many. There is also a huge disparity between rich and poor in the UK thanks to the Tories.

Been 3 times in the last year to visit ds1 at Uni and it didn't seem that bad. Most towns have declined rapidly, seaside towns even more, recently. So sad to see.

1. Covid
2. WFH
3. Austerity
4. Cost of living
5. Brexit
6. The complacency of online shopping and moaning about 'the hassle' of going places and doing anything that isn't entirely convenient and comfortable.

Well it's probably the worst time of year for sightseeing.
Grey, wet, grimy.
Will look better in the summer.

The city centre that most shocked me recently was Exeter. I worked there some time ago and loved it. Went last year with DD for a university open day and yes, it was grim. You start off with the bingo halls and slots and vape shops/phone unlocking shops then walk up dirty generic high street n376.

It's a problem across the UK, seems everytime I go into Aberdeen there is another shop closed to the point that there is hardly anything left. I feel sorry for the towns /cities that didn't have much in the first place.

I used to love going into Nottingham as a child but it’s been in decline for a very long time, years before Covid hit. It’s madness that when I need to visits a physical shop the nearest store is usually in Derby.

Haha, we are from Nottingham and went to Exeter last week. Admittedly we only saw the centre and went at night when it was all lit up with fairy lights but we were blown away with his pretty it was compared to grimtastic Nottingham

Sheffield is also looking really tired. They've also decided to dig lots of the city centre up at the same time - it looks awful. I wondered last week if I should have gone into Nottingham instead but perhaps not!

I was there last July and someone was stabbed just outside the Victoria Centre at lunch time. Gang related. I went into the Victoria Centre 90 mins later and there were gang members hanging around and it had a very sinister air. It didn’t feel safe. I remember as a teenager going out shopping there and it was the thing to do. I used to work there too for a few years. It really has gone downhill.

Nottingham needs massive investment. It isn’t going to happen since the council has no money and likes to spend what it does have on its latest woke venture.

Come to Manchester. Stroll around Piccadilly Gardens. Take it in. Then pop back to Nottingham, it will feel like paradise.

It really isn’t alone though. We went to Bristol recently and it was grotty. I was expecting it to be lovely from what I’d heard.

If you're not in a gang then you're perfectly fine. Nobody is going to mistake middle aged women for gang members.

I'm local. It's no worse than any other city centre really. Derby is more depressing although their shopping centre is better than the Nottingham one.

All city centres are on the decline, online shopping and lack of money to spend are killing them.

@user73 I went to Exeter a couple of years ago and really liked it as well. Wasn't keen on the people though. So rude!

Nottingham city centre is apparently the most unsafe part of the whole of the East Midlands. Too many gangs. Stabbings machetes you name it.

I’m in Nottingham city centre every single day and have never seen a stabbing or a machete etc. it’s looking run down compared to how it was. It needs investment. But implying it’s seriously dangerous is ridiculous.

It’s sad, isn’t it. I see it in my part of London as well, now only nail bars, vape shops, charity shops, barbers & hairdressers. I suppose that’s all that’s left to be done in person, so much is online? The only clothes shops left are Primark and New Look and a couple of dodgy looking ones where you can’t take things back for refunds (or couldn’t a few years ago, and I haven’t been in them since).

And FWIW our local council is Tory, as is the next town along, also looking more derelict by the day.