What do you think is the worst city centre in the UK and why?

[OneLilacHedgehog]

So many cities have gone downhill since COVID. But which is the worst?

London. I had to drive into the city a while back and was shocked at how grim it was on the way in. I think going in on the train and tube, you bypass a lot of it but travelling at 20mph, it really highlighted the worst.

Yep. Southend is horrible. The crime and homelessness never seems to go down. Gangs of violent thugs coming in from East London (machete fights over the last bank holiday weekend).

Drug problems spiralling too. I wouldn’t go anywhere near Southend at night when I lived nearby and, frankly, even previously ‘nice’ places like Leigh-on-Sea (next door to Southend) are getting known for crime and violence in a way I never would have thought possible a few years ago.

Ashford in Kent is pretty grim, too. Nothing but nail bars, takeaways, vape shops and barbers - money-laundering and drug dealing fronts abound.

Bradford, still got some beautiful buildings but so edgy and aggressive. Used to love it in the 90s. Love Leeds and Newcastle though.

It isn’t ridiculous. It’s exactly the point. It’s a pointless thread because no one has been to them all and therefore all you get is a never ending stream of “I recently visited X town centre and it was grim”. There’s absolutely no way to compare and contrast.

I live in Manchester and I avoid the centre.

I think Manchester is a great city and in my opinion should be second city - im a Brummie

I really dislike Manchester, there’s some lovely old architecture but it generally feels scummy and in my opinion is by far the worst of the northern cities.

I visited Milton Keynes once that felt pretty soulless. Also Doncaster after the leger races

Portsmouth ~ the shops are awful. And so many high rise buildings. It;s a shame the Guildhall is hidden behind the Civic Offices as it's the nicest building in the city centre

The seafront is wonderful, so much to see and do especially the historic dockyard with the Mary Rose exhibition and HMS Victory, Gunwharf is nice for retail outlets and restaurants. Old Portsmouth is lovely to wander around and Southsea Common often has major events and is opposite Southsea Castle and the D-day Museum

The city centre lets the city down badly

Southend is an absolute hole, could be so lovely given its location but it stinks, there is not one decent shop and it appears to be inhabited by the cast of the Walking Dead, with interludes from London gangs during sunny weekends and school holidays.

The only good thing in Southend is the blood test centre, that place is so efficient and the staff are lovely.

Birmingham was awful when I visited, so run down but then again so are many other places. When I think back to how lovely numerous places were 30 years ago, it makes me so sad that our children won’t have this experience.

Every town in the Black Country was ruined by planners in the 60’s. When I look back at how lovely they used to be with beautiful buildings and gardens it makes me sad. Nowadays they’re all concrete hell holes.

Manchester City centre

love Liverpool though!

MK famously doesn't actually have a city centre as such, everything is spread out in different areas.

I agree. My mother lives in Chichester - used to be such a vibrant cultural place with loads of nice of shops. Feels like most of the shops are empty now and will be even worse when m&s moves out to retail park. Closing of House of Fraser was the start - beautiful old building in such a terrible state now.
Dread to think what less affluent places are like tbh!
On a more posiitve note - recently went to Morpeth in Northumberland and that was buzzing and very nice (not a city though)

Blackpool. Is it city enough to count?

But not been to Luton. Also dislike Manchester, but it's not terrible

I guess it’s very subjective. I despise London and avoid it at all costs. I love Manchester, York and Edinburgh.

Some parts of London that used to be quite nice are now absolutely awful. The eastern end of Oxford Street is now American Candy Store hell and around Euston and Euston Road are tent cities full of junkies where they used to be nice bluestocking enclaves full of academics.

out of interest - what part of London were you driving through?

Birmingham!

I love my home town but it's changed so much, but I suppose most places have.

Chester
York
The shopping bit of Glasgow seemed ok

Surely all threads are pointless? It’s not meant to be a statistically valid piece of e of analysis.. just a bit of chat!

Leicester has declined shockingly over the last 20 years. It used to be busy & thriving but it has gone so far downhill that in 2025 M&S closed their city centre store which had traded there for a century. It seemed like a symbolic moment. Last person to leave please turn out the lights.

The place just seems trapped in a downward spiral. There are so many beggars, nutters, crackheads, reports of stabbings every week, delivery riders treating pedestrianised streets like a racetrack etc that respectable people no longer feel physically safe there. So retailers have fewer customers, so more shops close, so there is less reason to go into town, so the scrotes dominate more, so fewer people visit and so on. It’s even worse in the evenings. The nightlife scene is finished. Every week more pubs & restaurants close because people don’t feel safe going into town. Leicester has become a filthy, crime-ridden third world shithole.

That’s my nearest city. It’s grown on me - lovely pair of parks and a local nature reserve by the river and the refurbished Harris Museum is quite interesting.