Jonah
Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
That’s quite possibly the worst idea for the Market Square ever.
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What can realistically be done with the old Co-Op?
- Thread starter Tumble weed
- Start date
joshua
Well-Known Forumite
In fairness Mudgie has never seen the market square whilst sober
Mudgie
Well-Known Forumite
But I was just remembering a vibrant town centre when there were buses and taxis in the Market Square which had been nicely laid out to commemorate the Queen's coronation in 1953 and included some nice flower beds.
All I've seen commemorating our king's coronation is a black metal bench in Victoria Park.
And the lavatories should be reinstated to avoid going all the way to Broad Street.
Mudgie
Well-Known Forumite
Well I used the number 10 bus to and from town only last week for a haircut, getting a key cut and three pubs.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
As much as I miss some things that have gone, my memory of the "old days" of the town is that the High Street was possibly more congested than busy. It was quite difficult to get about without walking in the road, when you could. If it had been full of mobility scooters as well, it would have been even more frustrating.
And the bus stops in Market Square were never going to be a listed building.
And the bus stops in Market Square were never going to be a listed building.
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
Yes but. You don't possess Happy Mudgie's rise tinted spectacles.
Not forgetting the noise and the pollution for pedestrians to breathe in that all that lovely traffic added to the town centre.
Theresa Green
Well-Known Forumite
joshua
Well-Known Forumite
And your sense of humour
Theresa Green
Well-Known Forumite
Mudgie
Well-Known Forumite
Most of "the noise and the pollution for pedestrians to breathe in that all that lovely traffic added to the town centre" as you so eloquently put it was from motor vehicles other than buses and taxis. And the construction first of the M6 and then of Queensway means that our high street will never be as dreadfully busy as when it was the A34 trunk road between Winchester and Manchester.
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joshua
Well-Known Forumite
And that's why Windmill chippie is the best in town
Jonah
Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
It was vibrant because town centres were the only realistic places to shop 70 years ago during the post-war years. Times have changed. There are big supermarkets, retail parks, huge out of town shopping centres now and the internet to buy from now.
Also do you really want to be in town with cars, lorries, buses driving right through the centre with all the associated exhaust fumes and danger of being knocked over? I know I don’t.
Mudgie
Well-Known Forumite
Not cars and lorries, just buses, taxis and of course bicycles.
Wormella
Well-Known Forumite
Councillors give go ahead to buy former Co-op in Stafford | Stafford Borough Council
Cue
Well-Known Forumite
Any fully fledged proposals for what they’ll do with it yet, or just high level atm?Councillors give go ahead to buy former Co-op in Stafford | Stafford Borough Council
www.staffordbc.gov.uk
joshua
Well-Known Forumite
Declan’s Blog: Stafford Chamber LAAB meet to discuss town improvements
A group of our Stafford Chamber Local Area Advisory Board (LAAB) members recently joined the Deputy CEO of Stafford Borough Council, Gregg Stott, to have a look at the center of our County Town and identify some key discussion points on how to boost footfall and improve access.
In the space of an hour, we identified a number of areas which, if addressed, could help to significantly improve the appearance of the County Town. Commercial waste bins are an eyesore and moving these to the back of premises helps to increase space for pedestrians. Many commercial premises are blighted by graffiti, which creates a negative image.
During the previous week, it was announced that Stafford Borough Council had agreed to buy the town’s old Co-op department store as part of major transformation plans for the area. We welcome this news and see it as a very positive step in addressing the decline in both footfall and trade in the north end of Stafford Town Center. The acquisition of the former Co-op Department store will bring empty commercial premises back into use.
Like many towns across the country, Stafford has seen a drop in footfall, largely driven by changes in shopping patterns/habits and changes in working patterns following the pandemic, with many workers opting to work from home for part, or even all of the week. Aspirations to fill empty commercial premises with retail continues to be a challenge and we acknowledge that one option is to look at conversion from retail into residential. A growing town center population will use town center retailers and spend money in the many leisure and hospitality venues across the center of Stafford and we very much recognize the positive benefits that this can bring.
However, we continue make the call for more public services to be brought into the center of Stafford. We really believe that this will drive footfall into the County Town. One example could be the transfer of certain outpatient services. At present, service users are traveling to County Hospital, which either involves a journey of two buses or driving around and looking for a car park space. Having outpatient services in the center of Stafford would bring users into town by bus or train or using some of the town’s car parks.
Once in town, service users are likely to support other retailers, whether in the form of grabbing a coffee, collecting some dry cleaning or doing a food shop. It supports our hard-pressed town center retailers and can make a real difference. Having a retail option at the former Co-op store is a good thing but we would really welcome the scope to bring in more service provision for businesses, with office space and even business hubs for start-up entrepreneurs, as well as hot-desking space for those wanting to work for part of the week.
If you have any suggestions about how we can drive footfall into our County Town, our Stafford Chamber LAAB would be delighted to hear from you. Your suggestions can be forwarded to: declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
https://staffordshirechambers.co.uk...amber-laab-meet-to-discuss-town-improvements/
Mudgie
Well-Known Forumite
Yes indeed, and there's no need to keep using that word that reads as "football".
We're told that "At present, service users are traveling to County Hospital" - which I take as 'patients are traveling to County Hospital' - but that "Having outpatient services in the center of Stafford would bring users into town by bus or train or using some of the town’s car parks" and that "Once in town, service users" - patients - "are likely to support other retailers" such as "collecting some dry cleaning". But if you've got some dry cleaning to collect you're going to come into town for that anyway irrespective of whether you're going to have that nasty boil lanced at the county Hospital or elsewhere.