What's to become of the Guildhall ?

T

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Are they literally going to sit back and let every shop in there vanish ? They've made little / no attempt to attract any new businesses in there ?? Well apart from the Tan shop which seems to be doing ok.
 
joshua

joshua

Well-Known Forumite
Must be difficult to attract new clients when there is a big new mall on the horizon, which is no doubt offering some very good deals.
Has anyone found out who is owning/running the new mall ?
 
T

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Bring back the water features I say. TBH, the place lacks any sort of social experience, what with HMV gone and all the trendy shops, and the stores which are left are just going to be putting less and less effort in as they see the place as dying. Spesh as a few are rumoured to be moving over.

I don't know why they don't just lower the rates for a bit and move the flagship stores around. You could move River Island into the old JJB and Topman / Top Shop into the HMV. Or just close that whole side, move what shops that are left down into the vacant shops, knock all those units together and completely redesign that area and flog it to someone like Primark / BHS or some other superstore.

Sitting back, doing nothing strikes me as being idiotic.
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Knock it through

So we have a natural pedestrianised walkway from Stafford International Railway station to the Market Square ( to be renamed 50p Shire Hall Shop Square )
 
Dabbler

Dabbler

Well-Known Forumite
The rates are set by central government and collected by the local council, so there isn't very much that the council can do to influence the amount of rates payable.

In my view the configuration of the units is wrong. We have too many mid sized units that are too big for smaller, independent businesses and too small for the larger retailers that want to come into the town. That is probably why they will pick the new shopping centre, alongside the fact that it is new and shiny! Maybe the Guildhall need to consider making some larger units and separating out a couple of units into smaller units to encourage more independents.

One of the problems we have is that high streets and shopping centres in the future will be nothing like what's gone before. More people shop online, stores that are doing well include Argos and Currys with their click and collect options. We probably need less retail space overall and in my view we need more people living in town as well as working there to encourage more of a night time economy.

That is a bit off tangent for this thread, but the Guildhall will need to adapt to reflect customer needs of the future, not of today.
 
flossietoo

flossietoo

Well-Known Forumite
There's a tan shop? In the Guildall? How odd. Mind you, I haven't got over the idea of having your eyebrows waxed in a corridor.

Perhaps when they have finished with it, we can turn it back into the old market?
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
If you have your eyebrows waxed in a corridor does that mean one will be on top of the other?

A kind of Liam Gallagher Marx Brother look
 
flossietoo

flossietoo

Well-Known Forumite
I am not sure that the graduated tint on their website is necessarily a good idea. You'd probably be hoping for something a bit more even in the tanning department.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top