On a glorious summer's day in Bolton town centre, the streets are filled with people enjoying their lunch in the warm sunshine. The shops should also be bustling, but walking inside Crompton Place shopping centre, it feels like a ghost town. It's dark and almost eerie. Boarded up stores are a stark reminder of what was before.
Local people here say the town centre hasn't been the same since the rapid decline of the high street - which has seen shopping staples such as Debenhams, BHS and C&A vanish for good, alongside iconic businesses like Prestons of Bolton's flagship jewellery store.
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The coronavirus pandemic saw a dramatic decline in footfall, and due to the spiralling cost of living, there are fears on the streets that fewer people will be left with money at the end of the month to keep the shops left afloat.
Here in Bolton, shoppers say they are being forced to travel as far as Manchester or the Trafford Centre to get what they need - with talk of abandoning the high street altogether and buying clothes online.
Sue Taylor, 72, lives in nearby Breightmet but says she often uses the train for a 30-mile round trip to the Arndale in Manchester, due to a shortage of shops catering for women like her.
"In short, it's not good enough here," she says as she leaves the town centre empty handed. "We have a real shortage of ladies shops and now that Debenhams and C&A have gone there isn't anything.
"I have to go into Manchester on the train which is a big day out for me. I don't like doing my shopping online, I'm too old for it and I need to be able to try stuff on. There needs to be more women's clothes shops and less second hand shops. We also really need the market back that used to be here before."
One shopper, who asked not to be named, said he'd come into Bolton town centre for a look around the shops, but has been left continuously disappointed by what's available for men like him.
"There's nothing here anymore," he said. "We are in a real shortage of electronic shops like Currys. I have to shop online now which I don't really want to but I don't have a choice. I've just been mooching around Crompton Place and there was just nothing there. So many of the shops are empty now it's depressing."
New mums Kiera and Ellie had come into the town centre to look for a pair of shoes but said they'd have to look online as they'd not been able to find any shops which catered for their needs.
"It's shocking," they said. "We've just been round three shops looking for a pair of shoes and there's nothing. We just do all our shopping online now. We'd rather come in and do it in person but it's hard to get what you need and we can't go to Manchester because it's too far."
It's clear the day Debenhams in Market Place closed its shutters for the last time in May 2021 was a dark day for the town, and many shoppers still feel its disappearance has altered shopping for the worse.
During its height, there were over 150 branches of the department store across the UK, but the chain went into administration in 2019 after several years of decline. The pandemic was cited as the final nail in the coffin for the retailer.
Vera Burnett, 85, said she rarely comes into Bolton town centre anymore following the collapse of Debenhams, as there's "not much" here for her anymore.
"I go to Leigh instead a lot of the time," she said. I've only come here today because I needed to buy a present but there's nothing really here for me now that Debenhams and the department stores have gone. It's just Marks and Spencer but that's it really."
Yvonne, 55, said she feels the same. "We don't really come into Bolton anymore," she said as she stopped to chat before she and her son visited the local job centre. "Now that Debenhams has gone it's all gone downhill. We just go to Horwich retail park instead now."
Bolton Council have recognised the need for major development in the area and have already committed £100 million towards the redevelopment of the town centre, which will include a mix of housing, leisure, hospitality and retail venues.
In 2018, the local authority purchased the now delipidated Crompton Place, and have begun plans to transform it into a new "state of the art" retail and leisure centre.
The new site is expected to boast 46 retail units and kiosks, a 300-space car park, 17,000 square foot office space including co-working hubs, 180 homes, a hotel and mixed-use retail, leisure, dining and events space.
By building more homes and flats, along with hosting events such as Ironman and The Food and Drink Festival, Bolton council say they hope to make the town centre more vibrant and bring in large crowds to boost the local economy.
Bolton council has been approached by the Manchester Evening News for comment.
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