tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post5447860649285528898..comments2024-03-13T10:32:22.656+00:00Comments on thanetonline: Margate and empty shops, a Midweek RambleMichael Childhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499435016469020417noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-18569200302882550802012-09-08T13:34:16.464+01:002012-09-08T13:34:16.464+01:00it is so easy to park at out of town centres like ...it is so easy to park at out of town centres like Westwood cross but It is really difficult and expensive to to park in cliftonville broadstairs and margate. I think that free parking for up to an hour in these town centres would make a difference. Some people may think there is an ulterior motive in making it difficult to visit the shops in town.... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-7524072891611565092012-09-08T13:28:39.669+01:002012-09-08T13:28:39.669+01:00Most of the shops in the old town are just glorifi...Most of the shops in the old town are just glorified junk shops that charge a bit more than elsewhere. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-64567182767547435042012-09-08T12:41:27.990+01:002012-09-08T12:41:27.990+01:00The trouble is that most of these new shops don...The trouble is that most of these new shops don't sell every day goods that would entice shoppers back (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the only place to buy fresh fruit and veg in Margate now is Morrisons!). <br /><br />I also think that Margate should be rebranded as "Margate and Cliftonville" (similar to Brighton and Hove), just so that TC visitors are aware there's more just up the hill from the old town. Peter Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06283534498743254609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-85916706424077789432012-09-08T10:11:05.435+01:002012-09-08T10:11:05.435+01:00While it would be foolish to claim that Margate is...While it would be foolish to claim that Margate is thriving, it is massively improved on a few years ago. The old town, once deserted, is now mostly occupied. The lower part of the High Street remains a problem, but a wander up the road shows several shops planning redevelopment. Around on the sea front, several shops that have been empty for 10 years or more are coming back to life. I don't know if this is all down to Turner, or if it was the most efficient way of getting life to Margate, but it IS working. The only problem was that it was officially one of the least occupied shopping areas, so it has a long way to go. As has been mentioned above, free parking would help enormously. Chris<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-4804247306213033492012-09-06T16:08:55.200+01:002012-09-06T16:08:55.200+01:00A quick look at the KCC budget proposals suggests ...A quick look at the KCC budget proposals suggests the £2m a year for the Turner Contemporary will be spared, despite council staff cuts, social care cuts etc etc. When will those responsible have the humility to admit they were wrong and accept that the huge expenditure has benefited no-one other than a gilded few?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-46172161513413771942012-09-06T11:39:13.625+01:002012-09-06T11:39:13.625+01:00I remember Ramsgate town centre when it was a thri...I remember Ramsgate town centre when it was a thriving shopping area. People shopped there in their thousands; but then they had no alternative. Now they do. We have Westwood Cross with among other things its free parking and pedestrianisation; and we have the Internet which is convenient, permanently open and generally cheaper. I can recall my grandmother struggling up King St with a heavy basket of shopping, which she had collected after queuing in several shops. I know that she would have preferred the convenience of Westwood Cross or the Internet. Time moves on and things inexorably change. Online shopping will not go away and will prosper. As will the shopping centres as they grow become increasingly more like traffic free villages. The High Street has to change. Just how I do not know.John Holyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02284672912775316883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-70006691444557709812012-09-06T09:23:31.035+01:002012-09-06T09:23:31.035+01:00As a resident of Cliftonville, my heart fills with...As a resident of Cliftonville, my heart fills with horror at the thought of filling empty shops with bad tenants, etc. <br />"To get the real shops back into the shopping centres the expenses of being there have to be comparable to the expenses of selling goods online, that is rent rates insurance light heat etc." is the only sensible option.<br />An interesting read.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04070932500118412102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-76816518070624141432012-09-05T23:08:33.040+01:002012-09-05T23:08:33.040+01:00You're wrong there, most of them don't bot...You're wrong there, most of them don't bother with the cup cakes. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-63510915734541490602012-09-05T20:58:45.518+01:002012-09-05T20:58:45.518+01:00So is that right Michael that despite the Turner G...So is that right Michael that despite the Turner Gallery Margate town centre is getting worse? Does that mean that the thousands of extra visitors are having their free entrance, buying a few cup cakes and then heading straight out of town? I know its costing £2 millions a year to keep going and we are in year 2 of 5 for this funding by KCC and the Arts Council but its not looking good after that. I cant see KCC saying that its been a £26 million pound failure though. <br />I wait with interest the Portas pilot Margate programme.<br />I also wonder if the £10 millions needed for Dreamland will also be a punt in the dark but I guess if that fails it will just become part of the housing development. <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-4114676121869074142012-09-05T17:05:17.814+01:002012-09-05T17:05:17.814+01:00I really think that High Streets days are numbered...I really think that High Streets days are numbered, and that the only "solution" is to go back to the pre-WW1 days when they were a mixture of residential and shops. This has been happening to villages for years (go through almost any village in Kent and you'll find a house called "the old post office") as (ironically) people went to towns such as Margate and Ramsgate instead, now it's the bigger towns that are feeling the pinch. Peter Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06283534498743254609noreply@blogger.com