I was amazed one Sunday I went in how desolate the centre was. Not only was there the issue of boarded up shops but how many were closed on Sunday.
The whole of the arcade was closed and the decay was incredible really.
I spoke to a landlord of a pub (one id never been to which was actually pleasant enough) and he said that high rates are driving people out of the city and most pubs are struggling.
It's dire and I can see no recovery. It's a relatively small city centre compared to the likes of Nottingham and Leicester but those cities are packed with people.
Can't see how they can justify charging high rates, the place is desperate for custom, they should be paying people to get in there.
It's a few things isn't it?
- Reduction in an already pretty small nightlife
- Loss of decent jobs mean fewer affluent customers to support retail businesses
- Being half an hour from the Bull Ring
- Leamington and the like having naturally prettier surroundings and aforementioned affluent people
- The vicious cycle of customers not going to Cov because it's not got the shops and shops not coming to Cov in sufficient amounts to form a critical mass because the customers don't go there (this is the biggie IMO)
Personally I don't see a future for City Centres. High Streets fill the niche market as well as the few restaurants and pubs that people still want, retail parks fill the need for big name stores, the Internet hoovers up everything else. Every major reason for them existing as they were is either gone, on it's way to being replaced, or done better locally.
I think you've got to move it towards being just another part of the City. More residential stuff, what is left moved into tighter areas like Friargate will be (if it actually comes off). We all know things like City Centre South, Bishopsgate and the Burges will probably be a failure due to lack of interest. May as well give Cov Uni a quarter down where they are, put business/admin around the station and make the rest a bit more compact, maybe just around the precinct. Basically half the existing strategy but without the over optimistic projects like City Centre South. Then what's left over turn into proper residential or student areas, or (my choice) a big fuck off park, can't have enough big fuck off parks IMHO.