Residents fear empty and neglected shops are "killing" their town's high street. Bath Street in Ilkeston has dozens of shop and business units, however, more than one in every 10 is empty, according to a report from Erewash Borough Council.
A total of 12% are vacant, and ten units have been vacant for between four and 23 years. To help resurrect 10 town centre shop units, the council has agreed to submit a £20m bid to central government's Levelling Up fund, which will also help renovate the former Ritz Cinema and Bingo hall on South Street and carry out several public realm improvements.
It has been reported that long-term vacant shop units were causing a "negative effect on the vitality and viability of the high street", reports Derbyshire Live.
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Whilst waiting for a bus on Bath Street, Derek Barks, 82, told the Local Democracy Service that "Ilkeston has died. I have lived here all my life and it is such a shame.
"There were more shops years ago but they are now mostly cafes and charity shops. It used to be a beautiful town but it has died since they built that bypass (Chalons Way), that stopped people coming into Ilkeston and the town was bringing less people in.”
Tony Brock has lived in Ilkeston for 32 years, along with 22 years in Long Eaton, and said the empty shop units were “just about killing it (Ilkeston town centre) aren’t they? It is such a shame that there are so many empty shops. We have got enough cafes, charity shops and women’s nail shops, they are all staying open.”
Susan and Roger Dilks moved back to Ilkeston two years ago after spending a number of years in Belper, and said that the town centre was "“no comparison to Belper.” Roger, a retired history teacher, said: “It is a pity really, because there are some nice handsome buildings which have been ruined by tacky shop fronts over time.
"It is a shame. It is bringing the town down a bit. It used to be a lot better, livelier with more varieties of shops.”
Susan, a retired nurse, added: “The empty shops look quite dowdy, but the town centre looks messy as well, with cigarette butts and empty drink bottles. With a street such as this it is difficult to get the right mix, the street is too long too, people mostly stop at the end of the pedestrianised bit.”
Catherine Wall has been a manager at the DIY shop Framed and Locked in Bath Street for 11 years. She said numerous vacant shop units had now been taken on but that the town centre needed more of a variety to bring in more trade.
Catherine also felt that free parking would also bring a boost, she said. A resident who did not wish to be named said that the town centre was “not very good” because “everyone is going to Tesco”.
They said: “It is such a shame isn’t it. Everywhere it is the same, they are all going to supermarkets for the convenience of it.”
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Jane Owen has worked at the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline charity shop in Bath Street for more than four years. She said: “I would like to see the empty shops opened up.
"There are empty shops in the precinct and Dorothy Perkins and Peacocks have closed. On the main shopping street I would like a butchers and a fruit shop, people are having to go to the supermarket for all that."
"We get our regulars, just like a local pub, but have seen that people don’t really bother with Bath Street now. It hasn’t affected us as much though because we have our regulars and there are two bus stops close by" Jane added.
Jo Marsh opened her shop Let It Be Gin in Bath Street in September, where she sells local small-batch gins and rums, and said: “I think it has a big impact on this end of the High Street, people think there is nothing down here, but there is a lot down here and quite a few have opened in the last week. I have lived in Ilkeston all of my life and I have seen it as a thriving town and then run down, but I think now there is a bit of a revival."
On Wednesday, June 6, an executive council meeting took place, where members agreed to push forward the bid for the Levelling Up Fund. Borough council chief executive, Jeremy Jaroszek, said it was “entirely right to focus this bid on Ilkeston after the success in Long Eaton."
Steve Birkinshaw, head of planning and regeneration for the council, said the consultation responses on what people wanted to see in Ilkeston were very clear, and that "what they want to see improved is Ilkeston town centre.
"It is the centre of the town geographically, socially and commercially and we all want to see these buildings brought back into use, and if we didn’t push for that now (after the consultation results) we would be rightly criticised.” Councillor Bryn Lewis, lead member for town centres, showed his support for the fund and said: “For too long investment has been focused in the South and not in the North and Midlands.”
Borough council leader, Councillor Carol Hart, called for a chamber of trade to be “resurrected” in Ilkeston, which she believes is already under way, to allow businesses a collective voice in the town.
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