Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36089643)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58197626



Complete idiocy.

They wanted to get more people to Oxford Street whose stores are struggling due to the general decline in in-person shopping and because the more attractive Regent Street is taking all the top-end retail stores.

Oxford Street is full of traffic and crappy (and rather suspicious) American Candy Stores.

For as long as I can remember people have been pleading for Oxford Street to be pedestrianised. Make into a massive street where you can have plants, tables outside for cafes and pubs, and lots of room for people to shop rather than being crammed into crowded pavements next to vehicles. People hate Oxford Street because there is no room to move and lots of traffic.

So what do they do? Build a massive pointless hill at the end of it at a cost of £6 million. Idiots.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36089670)

Westminster Council need to listen for once instead of coming up with these stupid ideas. It's so obvious what the problems with the area around the West End are and they don't address them. They don't try to make Oxford Street a nicer place to shop, they don't do anything about the weird amount of vape, American candy and crappy souvenir shops that pop up and close down constantly

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36089670)

Westminster Council need to listen for once instead of coming up with these stupid ideas. It's so obvious what the problems with the area around the West End are and they don't address them. They don't try to make Oxford Street a nicer place to shop, they don't do anything about the weird amount of vape, American candy and crappy souvenir shops that pop up and close down constantly

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36089695)

To be fair that’s exactly what every medium sized town centre in Britain looks like now. No reason why London should escape it.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36089700)

I think this is something else. This isn't just an issue with having one of those shops but how many they are and how fleeting they exist in vacant units before disappearing again.

London rent is expensive. You have these American candy shops more commonly appear than a Pret or Starbucks does and no one is ever in them.

Private Eye did a piece on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comm...ouvenir_shops/

Something weird is going on.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36089700)

I think this is something else. This isn't just an issue with having one of those shops but how many they are and how fleeting they exist in vacant units before disappearing again.

London rent is expensive. You have these American candy shops more commonly appear than a Pret or Starbucks does and no one is ever in them.

Private Eye did a piece on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comm...ouvenir_shops/

Something weird is going on.