I walking along Cartergate today, the street that marks the East side of the old Civil War town. You might therefore think it has a historic feel, and that the heritage people on the town council would look after it properly.
Well, not really...
For a start it doesn't have the same quality of building on it, no really impressive Tudor or Georgian builds, just stuff on a much smaller scale. Also, one end of the street has got some nasty modern slabs on it, well, this is inevitable, every town has these.
Like many towns, the issue is one of the sort of shops we have, and the sort of frontage design they have. It was never the poshest street in town, but you had a variety of shops, and the design wasn't too shocking.
Now we have two nail bars (and another directly round the corner), two e-cig shops, a bookies, a card shop, two charity shops, and various empty ones with forlorn looking "to let" signs bolted on. One of the nail bars in particular has a frontage so horrific it would be deemed "unclassy" by the ape creatures on TOWIE.
I suppose this is happening everywhere as the internet reduces the need for specialist shops, and faddy quick start businesses move in. But really, can you please make them conform to some kind of vaguely classy frontage design. A neon sign saying "Nails" really really isn't.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.04.16
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| Looking North |
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| First e-cig shop. Used to be a tiny book shop. Note empty shop on right. |
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| We only have about 64 card shops in town |
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| Gamblers. |
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| The aforementioned atrocity |
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| Bookies. We have loads of these as well now. They tend to go alongside deprivation. |
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| They've gone a bit posh, there was a £3,000 watch in the window the other day |
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| Another nail bar |
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| Beacon of sanity |
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| More e-cigs |
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| Looking back down 100 metres of street. |
Oh no, I hate it when cute little book-shops get replaced with something else. There was a great one selling discounted books in my local town but it's since been replaced with another beauty and healthcare shop, which we already had 3 of! Always a shame seeing empty shops too, they could be used for so many things. - Tasha
ReplyDeleteBloody e-cig shops are popping up everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got your nails done while you were down there. My local town, Royston looked as though it was going to be closed down by the competition from the Tesco superstore that opened nearby, but it's recently started to come back to life with a few new shops opening.
ReplyDeleteI hope the e-cig shop manages to survive the shortly to be introduced draconian regulations.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, a price on your nails, I would like my nails done, but, I can't afford it.
ReplyDeleteSame all over, they have just closed our local bank, second one to go in a moth. Good odds on betting it will be a hairdressers or a second hand shop !
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
It seems wherever you live the shopping streets have changed.
ReplyDeleteWith rising costs it is not making it easy for any shop to survive ...and many seem to come and then dis-appear again.
Nail shops are definitely popular, we have three nearby!!!
I've not visited one ... once!!!
However,many out there must.
Have a great weekend
Now I'm off out to see if I can find a nice bookshop!
All the best Jan
Thanks for all your comments, found some more odd things for you today.
ReplyDeleteThe second e-cig shop is doomed; that shop has had more occupants in th last few years than I've had hot dinners.
ReplyDeleteCartergate is probably where I could afford to open the record shop that I have in my dreams.
The second e-cig shop is doomed; that shop has had more occupants in th last few years than I've had hot dinners.
ReplyDeleteCartergate is probably where I could afford to open the record shop that I have in my dreams.