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?

A few years ago we were in Sunderland and it felt grim. (I think for the Ed Sheeran concert). We struggled to find anywhere decent to eat, it was all ‘pizza and a pint for a fiver’ in a sports bar. 😆

However, we were there last weekend and it feels there is a turnaround. New investment, new modern buildings on the riverside etc. Keel Crossing is making a difference, Sheepfold has potential, character and some new, quality restaurants (as well as Si King’s Propa), The Fire Station is a great venue and the newly opened Culture House a super addition combining education, culture, creativity and community cohesion.

I found Bath (which I wanted to love) had a not nice edge (late Saturday afternoon and into the evening), with dirty streets and shop fronts. We chose an Italian deli type place to eat, which looked fine downstairs but was awfully tatty upstairs, hanging wires, oddments of furniture, quite scruffy.

Has it changed a lot? My parents were in Cornwall and I drove there a few times to go shopping. There was some nice quirky shops around and I enjoyed shopping there a few times, but it was about 15 years ago.

Shipton Abbot in Cornwall is really lovely, although even there they struggle with crime

Yes, thank you I was really on the edge of my seat about that one. I mean I'm surprised Luton ( also not a city ) got mentioned so many times and noone mentioned Croydon.

Ridiculous thread.

Leominster, Maidenhead, Luton, Slough, Hounslow..? Some of you need to learn what a city is and therefore what a city centre is.

It's not just pedantry. Cities are big and complex. Posh bits and shitty bits. And city centres are the same.

Homelessness, ebikes on pavements, begging, retail decline. These unfortunately are common in most British city centres in 2026. Calling out "[city name] has gone downhill" as your justification for naming it in a thread about "the worst city centre in the UK" just shows your ignorance. Oh, you saw a homeless person or some empty shops, did you? If that's enough to send you running back to your suburban retail park, you don't know what you're talking about.

Why are towns and cities becoming more and more run down as time goes on? There must be some kind of common factor, seeing as its endemic countrywide. I completely avoid my city centre these days, it's just awful and depressing.

Leicester city centre is grim these days, homeless drug addicts everywhere and you get the religious nutters reading in the town square shouting at you. Loads of shops have closed down and it just looks so run down.

Yes, I agree, the bit they rebuilt is much better than what was there before.
I like Manchester, but like all cities there are parts that are run down and not invested in.

I find the 1960s architecture of the ex bombed area really grim. It's a blasted heath. (But also no fan of shopping centres!)

Brexit is an ongoing disaster but COVID necessitated massive government borrowing which we are now trying to pay back in a Brexit-damaged economy.

And breathe… no need for a lecture.

No investment (the country is skint) and lack on people going shopping I guess, prefer to do online.

Downward spiral sadly.

We all shop on line, no customers, no shops, no high streets.

No high street, no choice, we all shop on line.

Nothing left, destroyed by the likes of SHEIN & TEMU with their poor quality, cheaply made, sometimes unsafe products.

Leaves empty shops, charity shops, nail bars/barbers and vape shops. Often scruffy and cheaply fitted out.

We need to change our habits. (difficult with little left).

Preston was pretty awful when I visited. Are there usually crack ridden older people shouting and writhing on the floor?

Coventry is pretty dire

Preston. It’s fucking suicide inducing. Had to stop for a conference once and have passed through a few times.

In my town the charity shops are folding.

Like most people here, I don't have enough experience to compare with all the other cities in the U.K, but yes, it's bad. It wasn't great in the late 90s, but now it's worse. Hollowed out, partly because all the big shops have located themselves just outside of it. Not pedestrian friendly.

Poole is now a shit hole, I'm surprised, what a shame, I was there thirty years ago.

They were going downhill long before Brexit.

Blackpool

It's not just pedantry. Cities are big and complex. Posh bits and shitty bits. And city centres are the same.

But incorrect. Cities come in all sizes. City centres are not all the same.

Gorgeous, small city with a regular market and a range of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. Www.visitripon.co.uk

It’s the same in most places. My home city Gloucester has gone exactly the same way. Shops closed down and boarded up and the place filled with alcoholics and drug addicts (fighting outside my workplace most days). It’s dreadful.

I recently filled in a questionnaire about it and said both the council and police should be totally ashamed of letting things get like this. This once beautiful city is now a shithole.

But as everywhere seems to have gone downhill, someone in the council, police, government has allowed this to happen by changing laws and byelaws.

I like St Albans