Who is to Blame for all the Empty Shops?

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Made in Britain – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPsHpxIZBqU&t=771s

Episode 13 – Death of the High Street / Leeds

This video has brought me to Leeds. A city which once was super famous for its shopping. It had a huge number of shopping arcades so I was intrigued to see what shape they were in.

I also made a visit to the White Rose centre, a giant out of town shopping mall. It was actually in a lot better shape than I thought. There was one strip of boarded up shops but that was it really.

I talk about rents in this video. How the reluctance to lower rent on property is such a factor in the decline of town centres. Even though we know the buildings don’t hold that value any more, they still don’t budge.

Driving into Leeds was a night mare and the parking was tricky too, all factors which make places like the White Rose more appealing.

New culprits falling as well, with Matalan going the end of the month. Another empty shop ready to take its place on the high street.

Until next time,

W.T

#Leeds #high #street #urban #decay #shopping #retail #abadoned #shopping #city #explore #explorepage

Here’s one of the problems in the UK so the powers that be would rather have these places these giant shops and buildings empty than to accept reduced rent because reducing the rent is accepting that these spaces no longer have value the buildings aren’t worth what they say they are the abundance of

This commercial Wasteland is the result of our overinflated ego and economy our inability to look at anything but the all important omniscient Market but in keeping this illusion of wealth in playing along with this palava of profit we’re literally watching our cities die so on that slightly depressing note come

Along as I explore the Lost shops of leads and I promise I’ll try and make it as fun as possible welcome back to another episode of the death of the High Street and this week we are in leads we’re visiting the city of leads but to

Start off I’m going to go to the White Rose center now it’s a giant outof Town SHO in complex which sits just a few miles from the center of leads and I’ve been talking about these so many times throughout this series so I thought I’ve

Got to go visit one I hate them I don’t like coming to these places but we know these places I’ll show you it this is what takes so much traffic from The High Street in the center of towns and cities doesn’t it so they were born from the

United States from that American dream that said capitalism isn’t going to die it’s going to continue growing and grow in and we can create these self-serving Utopias where you can fulfill all of your monetary desires without having to pay for parking but unfortunately they didn’t really work as planned and in the

United States now scattered all across the country there are abandoned shopping malls which unfortunately couldn’t survive now they didn’t kick off as much in the United Kingdom as they did in America we’ve got quite a few but nothing to the scale of America but I visited a shopping center in Newcastle

Last week that was completely abandoned so let’s go see what the white rose Center is like and then we’ll head into leads so we got a closed M&S here but it is saying a new one’s opened so not closed for Good well that one is but

There’s another one so we can go see that yeah so far in here all nice and busy nothing really boarded up like I thought there might be yeah so just as I was saying there’s nothing that’s boarded up I’ve got to this bit where there’s an entire row and they’ve just

Put on pictures of shops let me show you this the green grossers fake shop the Sweet Shop fake shop Apothecary there that’s cool actually needed something from an apothecary let’s go and have a little look if it’s a wait a second it’s not a real shot what about the Bookshop wonder

If they’ve got Bravo 20 by Andy McNab wait wait wait wait a minute what the bakery come on please let this be a real Bakery do not oh it’s a fake Bakery yes you’ve got that entire row there with these shops down there your bakery your bookstore your Apothecary then you got

Some houses painted on there I’m guessing that’s just covering up empty shops but wow I was not expecting to find that let’s see what else we’ve got in the white Roose Center big corner unit there to be honest aside from that strip where they were all them stuck on houses it’s

Actually looking pretty good in it Virgin Holidays there mobility scooter shop twoe down here so that’s three travel agents I’ve seen so far in here which is good to see and yet on this ground bit I think they’ve condensed it all to that one strip where there’s no shops these are

My favorites though got cat in the window fake green grosses that’s the way to do it your shops have shut down just stick a few fake ones on no one will notice no one will try to go in them amazing let’s go have a look upstairs got few entrances to shops that have

Upstairs Primark over there next over there and all the food you could possibly need to sustain you a day at the White Rose Center you could stay here for hours days if possible right I need a coffee though let’s get a coffee and I think I think I’m done in here

I’ve walked around it’s not as big as I thought to be fair it’s not as big as the Trafford Center but yeah I mean it’s still massive yeah so there it is you can do all your shopping get the kids to the cinema sorted so there we go that was

The White Rose Center I actually didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would have done I think it’s different when you’re actually going shopping for something that’s when it becomes uh quite an awful experience you’re actually looking and you’ve actually got to search through the shops that’s no

Fun but just a little wand around I could deal with that and it actually seems to be doing all right apart from that strip where they have stuck on fake shots shs with the fake doors it reminds me I did a video in uh in the Northeast

In a in a town full of abandoned houses and what they’d done there was stuck on fake doors and windows and I remember walking up to them thinking Is that real and then seeing it was completely fake and it’s the same thing they’ve done

There and I give it to it it does look a lot nicer than just a boarded up shop I mean it’s a bit silly that they’re putting on shops like the green Grocers and the book shop and the Apothecary things that just wouldn’t exist at the

White Rose Center but yeah that made me laugh that was funny good to see right now let’s head into the center leads and compare it because obviously that seems to be doing all right there lot of footfall let’s go see what the center leads looks like see how much traffic

This place is taking no wonder people are going to the White Road Center driving into leads was mental wow people from leads let me know is it always that crazy that was an absolute Nightmare and also trying to find parking as well took me absolutely ages don’t know how much it’ll cost as

Well I’ve got a ticket so we’ll put on at the end how much it costs but it’s already why those places like the white rows are more appealing straight off the motorway free parking don’t have to have that ball Lake of a drive it took me

Like half an hour it’s like 2 miles away right let’s get to it though let’s go explore the center of leads see what it’s like do you shop more on the High Street or online online online yeah yeah are you from leads as well just outside just outside but how often would you

Shop in the center of leads once every couple month right yeah yeah yeah occasions special occasions when you want to just get your hands on and actually see it yeah maybe maybe bigger purchases yeah yeah do you ever go to the White Road Center not really

No you do you prefer do you prefer going to that than the center uh for convenience yes yeah for convenience yeah you got one shop to let over there and up here you got the big wheel there it is the Giant Wheel covering up the lovely building behind

It so I reckon it was about in 2001 or 2002 but suddenly cities to show they were prosperous and doing well all started to get big wheels big Ferris wheels it was a sign of saying look how well our City’s doing they started springing up everywhere everyone was

Excited for about a week and then somehow they stayed and some places still have them right so we’re getting to the High Street area now so this is where want to explore see what it’s like oh and here we go retail partially fitted grab and go Cafe

Opportunity so if you want a partially fitted opportunity there that’s for you bookies on the end there so we’ve got a place here that says opportunity for restaurant with a rooftop Terrace hopeful that there and look at that big Clinton cards on the end that’s gone check that

Out I didn’t realize Clinton cards are gone bust maybe they haven’t maybe it’s just that Branch let’s have a Google actually so online I found an article saying that Clinton cards is closing 38 of its shops to avoid insolvency so yeah that’s what’s happened there something else there offering panoramic city views

And another one to let there this Patisserie Valerie this looks closed as well if you look in there yeah that sh lots of stuff open though it’s busy as well so let’s walk up here and walk back around and down now that’s how you board up a shop just one giant

Board look at that decent that and over here really long one all empty there wonder what that was I’ll do that Google Earth thing where you can see what it once was that’s always fun so you can see here that this place used to be a haze travel a haze travel agent

Going back in time and skipping back even further before that it was a Thomas Cook and I think that’s a leads Building Society on the end there and on the end here behind all the people which is good lots of people are around but what they’re hiding is yeah boarded up

Shop again we’ll see what it once was with the Google Earth trick so this one here was a Halifax Bank and that was in 2022 it was still open so closed pretty recently and going all the way back to yeah 2008 you can go back to and it was

A Halifax Bank then as well you can just tell where some buildings do were Banks thank you again to that person that showed me that you can do that with spaces that are boarded up you can show what they once were with Google Earth it’s great someone else

There want to let on the end a broken window ah closing down sale I wonder if this shut recently so do you shop more on the High Street or online uh High Street still you prer coming are you from Leeds as well no we’re from uh Manchester or manchest

Say if you were in Manchester would you would you prefer to go to the Trafford Center or would you prefer to go into actually the center of Manchester probably Center sometimes I’ll try stuff on and then buy it online once I’ve tried it as well you know CU it might be cheaper I

Would like to try and see what it looks like first yeah so I’m just going to pause this video a second to make a quick point cuz I got a comment the other day on a video that said all this channel is is depressing scare on in you

Should be building the country up not tearing it down I’m not the one tearing the country down I’m not the reason your high streets look like that that’s cuz of greedy landlords because of online companies that probably get away we’re not paying any tax but let’s not just

Ignore the problem because really no one’s talking about this issue there’s a few YouTubers out there that are covering it in detail but you don’t see on the mainstream news at all or if you do it’ll be like this we’re on the streets talking to John and Sarah who

Own a shop John and Sarah how are you doing well yeah it’s really hard because we can’t afford the rent the rates are too high oh that’s terrible really really sad now over to hion bridge where locals are angry because the Christmas tree wasn’t big enough that’s a true

Story that happened do you know what I mean but I’d say that I do my absolute utmost on this channel to strike a balance between the Bleak and the Beautiful not everything on my channel is depressing at all I’d say the absolute opposite my brand new series

Made in Britain which I’ve just started celebrating stuff that’s still made here fighting back against the death of the High Street that’s the little part I can play in it I’ve already been to a Fine Furniture maker in wydale I’ve got so many more videos planned I’m going to a

Rubber Factory in Brighton I’m seeing a guy who still makes rocking horses it’s going to be so much fun yeah so you want to see stuff that’s not depressing go watch some of them so Le has loads of these shopping arcades there’s I can’t remember how

Many of there are but we’ll go into them so this is the first one let’s see how these are doing one there that’s closed oh another one there that’s closed Hound Bakery pound bakery’s closed some on the end there so not too bad in there there was

A fair amount of closed but there was also a lot of stuff open what’s this across the road and you got another little arcade right away this one’s called the meran center so let’s have a look in this one and see how this one’s doing

One there to let an alarm going off in Morrison’s I think it’s normally meant to be open but just got booted out so yeah there we go booted out of the first one so I wonder how many more will’ll get booted out of also the people at the

White roads they were so sound another point to White Rose on what’s the better place to do your shopping I also don’t know the legality of it the person there was saying it’s a legal it’s a public space I don’t know I don’t know if you

Are allowed to film or not but I’m not trying to cause a fuss I’m just trying to around and looking at retail spaces no worries though cuz you get kicked out of one there’s another one right here so in this one called The Core there an

Empty one there and then one on the end here as well that says this store is closed or closing but it’s going to oh St John’s it’s going to the other one we’ve just been in and then upstairs in here not so good you’ve got one there empty no one here

Empty another one there yeah going all the way around all those they’re empty yeah when you’ve got so many arcade spaces like Le does have and with retail disappearing as fast as it is you’re going to end up with floors like this with this entire floor of the

Arcade not the whole thing just this floor completely empty there’s nothing on it there’s another floor up let’s have a look upstairs as well yeah so up here there’s just a gym see oh wait a minute the Gym’s closed we are now permanently closed so that gym space

There which you can look through it’s massive takes up the entire top floor of this shopping arcade and then down here on the second floor which is where we’ve just been before that’s complet completely empty so it’s really only that downstairs floor that’s got anything on that’s what’s happening to retail just

Outside as well what’s this here Matan this store is closing on the 24th of February so Millie’s cookies here as well what does it say in the window of Millie’s cookies so the landlord has re-entered no one can take lawful entry to the premises so someone’s probably

Not been paying rent or rates there no one there on the end can’t believe that Matan there is closing that’s a massive store as well what’s it going to be another giant empty space in the center of a town another couple here that are gone oh cops swalled outdoor and snow yeah

Yeah so I actually know that place I know where that’s moved to and it’s like a combination of loads of different stores youve got like your running shoes you’ve got your mounting gear you’ve got like your ski stuff so they have just combined and gone let’s just all share

One uh premises well let’s share one shop all have a little corner and that’s a much better way of doing it and Summers there on the corner so a bit shut down at the top end but the bottom half looks good another arcade there let’s uh let’s walk down this

Street first and then um we’ll go in there I just want to make a point so I got chatting to this fellow the other day in the pub and we were talking about the death of the High Street and he made a really good point and I just hadn’t

Thought of it really but he was talking about how no one is going to lower the rent of premises everywhere’s closing so much stuff is closing wherever you go in the country at the moment it’s crazy it’s alarming how much stuff is just shutting down people own them buildings

They’re not going to lower the rent because lowering lowering the rent on the building lowers the property value it says this space isn’t actually worth that much so then if you’re trying to sell it or anything like that but it just got me thinking about how much

Value we put on space in the United Kingdom we say oh even for like a little house it’s so expensive space costs so much and yet all I see when I walk around is a load of empty space just weird isn’t it when you think of it like

That Costa are now doing hot milk shakes what a load of twaddle right so here we are on the the main pedestrian bit the main strip the main High Street in leads all looks nice and open on here but there was another arcade there and another one there so let’s oh

And another one there bloody hell there’s a lot of arcades in this place let’s walk up this one right yeah one two three 4 yeah so four of the units in there shut down wonder what they once were and welcome to another arcade so many let’s have a little look

In here see what this is everything looks super busy in here and open which is good to see I think that might have moved somewhere you come out of that place though and you got shop to let there and another [ __ ] arcade Jesus leads come on I’m you

Need right what’s down here so do you shop more online or the High Street online online would you rather go to the if you were going a shop would you rather go to the High Street or somewhere like the White Road Center High Street High Street I missed the

High Street you missed the High Street yeah yeah big toet one here God as always Warhammer doing well good to see what is it about Warhammer I’ll tell you this you’ll see a closed down Sho Zone you’ll see a closed down deams John Lewis you’ll never see a close down

Warhammer they’ve got a loyal fan base it’s interactive we can learn from Warhammer let me tell you that one on the end there empty and few more here sorry few more there so with this place it just proves that the problem has been there for a very

Long time because you can go all the way back throughout the years back in 2016 it looked the same all the way back to 2008 it looked like this and how long before that was it like this you just don’t know so yeah that decay has been

There for a while and then down the other side as well look at that another one there and look at this beautiful round building let’s have a little look in there the corn Exchange that is let’s have a look hope this is doing well let’s see oh it looks like it’s doing

Really well oh check this Out so this looks like it’s filled with little Independence loads of cool stuff like this on here at the state of that next to it as well bad apples gone so let’s go have a look in the market but just first look at this next to the market closed toet

Toet I’ll do the old Google Earth trick on there as well show you what they won swear so you can see here that these two were to let in 2022 but that hair salon there was open which is closed recently and then going back even further it was

A hair and beauty shop and then before that going back to 2008 it was a game station you can buy games online now another one here and a massive one on the end here that used to be what was that the or boots look at

That what is going to come in and take the space of that give me a shop give me a shop that can do that can take on that massive unit it’s crazy another big unit on the end there look at that what was that oh it looks

Like it was a gold shop let’s have a look in the market though see what is going on in here smells really good oo okay this is not what we wanted to see oh that’s such a shame so this whole row down here in the market these are all

Down lots of stuff open down here though oh cool yeah nice and open space over here which is really good lots of stuff open that’s really good to see so much stuff interested in occupying a unit so I might give them give them an email and

Just see how much it is to take one of these on there’s so many empty that is really sad to see to fair but it is huge it’s a huge space outside of the market this entire row here all them closed another arcade down there another one here I can’t go in

Them all I cannot go in them all but let’s have a look down this one so you got one there on the end closed that one there sh this one here short nice open ones though it’s a lovely Building look at that lovely Grand building what a

Perfect place to have your shop but then coming here you got some more boarded up here closed closed it is a very nice strip of shops this though the ones that are are open look cool looks nice nice whiskey shop little bit of whiskey that one there is closed sadly another one here

Empty and another one here empty so do you shop more on the High Street or do you shop more online so I do work in retail so I do tend to be in town more so I tend to shop more on the High Street I think shopping online is easier

Okay right yeah yeah so do you work in the center of town then as well yeah yeah I work just on BR here as you say shopping online the convenience but supporting businesses do you ever feel like I’m doing it to support the businesses as well yeah sometimes I feel

Like a lot of these companies already have like enough support online with stuff like like that that they don’t necessarily need the shops out on the starfront anywhere yeah um but yeah the smaller businesses I think it’s the smaller Independence yeah definitely I am so intrigued to revisit leads in 5

Years time see what the state of retail is like then maybe not even five maybe even sooner who knows but things are changing so so fast and that is the point of these videos that really is I’m never coming to a place with an intention of being like Oh look how bad

Leads is look how bad that’s not it I’m genuinely just interested in retail and just fascinated by how quickly it is disappearing before our eyes we are going through a seismic change of retail disappearing and it is just so interesting to wander around and see and to think will it be revitalized will

Places be able to take up some of these giant units which I’ve looked at today so this place here is that one where yeah all three have moved into one spot so you got cot swalled Outdoors you got Runners need and snow and rock and they’ve taken over one big unit and they

Each have their own little section of the shop which is a good way to do it when things are so high like rates rent staff costs you might be able to train people up to do multiple Brands it’s a good thing that always sad to see an abandoned Pub here the head

Row that’s gone so there we go a day out in leads exploring the High Street retail and also the White Road Center we went there as well so what wins in terms of convenience and getting there if you’re driving the white rose takes it free parking I’m yet to find out how

Much it cost me here so we’ll find out soon but yeah super easy off the motorway you’re there doesn’t cost you anything you can go around get your food you go home I’d say probably a little bit more empty than I thought there would be but still not unique oh my God £990

£990 oh White Rose Senter you win today that’s unbelievable I’ve only been here few hours wow a few final notes on leads then it’s a brilliant City it’s a great City designed for amazing shopping unfortunately we just don’t need that much retail anymore so how are we going

To revitalize that space and as I said at the start rents are such a factor in the death of the High Street and people’s reluctance too lower them rents to accept that that space just isn’t worth what it once was you can’t have a huge abundance of space all over the

City all over the country so many of these empty units and then still be saying it’s worth a lot this how can they possibly say that we don’t have enough space for housing if you used all that space for housing there will be plenty of affordable housing in this country but instead we

Build on the green belts springing up new builds everywhere whilst letting the cities Decay simple as that really anyway thank you so much for watching as always do go over and watch my b in Britain series I’ve got a great episode coming out hopefully next week maybe two

Weeks but yeah nice one bye-bye