The town planners have to take some responsibility too.
They keep on building shiny new shopping centres, which are in direct competition to the existing shops/stores.
All this does is move the shoppers around and with so many doing an ever increasing amount of shopping on line, the city centres will become white elephants.
Wakefield is a classic example of this very trait.
30(ish) years ago, we had the all singing / all dancing Ridings centre, which was a success and pulled some bigger names into the city.
However, opening up Trinity walk, which although very nice, has killed off the other half of the city centre.
Pre covid, there were already as many shops closed and boarder up, as there were occupied units.

If fashion/habits change and peole stop feeling the need to pay £3-4 for a cup of coffee to carry around and having their hair/nails done, there will be nothing left - it's depressing.

What should they have put in it's place,

what about a new rugby ground for Wakefield Trinity.

THey should have re developed (in stages) The Ridings.
Keep the city centre tight and accessible, rather than have a shiny new "mall" but, the cost was killing off the Cathedral side of town, which is an utter embarrassment.
The once vibrant part of the City, is now a ghost town, half boarded up and the rest of that side desperate for some life.
As for a new Trinity ground, progress was again thwarted but, we keep waiting and hoping.

Hull is the same,built Princes Quay, which killed Whitefriagate and Prospect Centre, built St Stephens, which killed Princes Quay.Hammonds now being converted into flats, BHS remains empty and Debenhams will be gone by the end of the year. M&S have no city centre prescence, but it's all going to be OK, they want to build a new Ice Arena and more flats...!

You still haven't mentioned in your capacity as a town planner what you would have planned for the land allotted to the trinity walk scheme, as for building a new ground for trinity, that was pure sarcasm btw.

Not sure what would have been the best thing for the land that Trinity Walk now occupies but, town planning in Wakefield has been awful.
The debacle over the old indoor and outdoor market, which were basic but, functional, replaced by a failed "indoor market" and with market stalls now lining the old precinct - once the pride of the city centre but, now, an eyesore.
If I'm honest, it's hard to remember what occupied the land where Trinity Walk now stands.
Some of it was the outside market but, I cant picture the rest.

The one certainty is that the City centre is badly lacking any cohesion and the ridings, once the jewel in the crown, is now a glorified jumble sale (Trinity shop of course, excluded

).

We could go on and discuss the old Clayton hospital site.

The hospital closed in 2012 and has fallen further and further into disrepair.
I understand that at some point it will be developed jointly as part of WGHS and QEGS but, for almost 10 years, it's been an absolute mess.

On the plus side, the area around Wakefield College and the new History Centre are coming on nicely, so, it's not all bad.

The brunswick hotel, the indoor market and outdoor market at the back of it levelled with the new market rebuilt where it is now, the fish market, Joe Shaws waltzer and the road that ran round it onto the top of Jacobs Well lane, all lovingly destroyed by the Labour council, so like it or lump it, it would seem that it's all down to the controlling labour party, just as an aside i wonder what the thoughts of tovaritch Pimpernel and his batman wilzay are on the subject

I am a proud socialist and can keep my head high, I will leave it to the likes of you who are Johnson apologist for all his failures to explain to the families of those that died unnecessarily, and those children who had their futures thrown into doubt. We will be having more enquires to fill a fridge and they haven’t gone a full year.
I would rather have a Labour council than a Conservative one that have been known to run things so well that they have to declare bankruptcy, how did that go for the services in their areas.

You can always rely on the tories for the “Grandest of Sh1tshows”

If that's a dig at me tovarisch pimpernel I am sticking up for your local labour council against another card carrying mate of yours that does not seem to agree with you vis a vie your all singing and dancing labour council, the very same one who you kept slagging off when they wouldn't build a new ground for the club, didn't hear much tub thumping for them then, hate to keep bringing this up though, what was your thoughts on the Tories when they let you buy your council house on Eastmoor?

The only card that I carry is my bank card, unless it's your birthday



I note that UK debt has now passed £2 trillion.
It does beg the question whether the butchering of local services and 10+ years of austerity were actually neccessary.
On the basis that apparently we're not going back to Austerity to clear down, the new,, much larger debt. maybe there could and should have been a different strategy ?

He paid full market price and asked for the discount due to be shared equally among all the residents of estate.
I remember it well,my Mum got credited with 16p on her rent book.

I guess your information is wrong because I have never stated anything negative about the council nor did I buy my house from the council. I would give up the idea of that detective agency because you are just not up to the job.

You'll be telling us next your not a retired second hand car salesman, or that you didn't wear that hideous Bernie Clifton outfit every year down at Brentford when we played the bronco's.

You are correct, I am definitely not a second hand car dealer and have never been to Brentford. I did go to Fulham when we played them in the cup thanks to an excellent Smith try.
If you knew me you would know I am not a person who would dress up other than a dinner suit when required.

Champagne socialist?

No I am from a working class family and proud of it. I am a socialist because I believe in society rather than individuality. I guess when you are a Boris apologist like you life should be dog eat dog with a return to the poor house for those with nothing.

At least they will get a bowl of gruel twice a day,thats better than nothing!!!

If I knew you, I could boil an egg every time I've been behind you on the golf course at Waterton Park, following you and waiting for you to hit the ball, those air shots of yours are quite legendary that's when your not moaning about something


While on the subject I believe you blamed Michael Carter for reporting you for using a pitching wedge on the green, test and trace has nothing on you pal.

What are you on about yes I play golf but not at Waterton Park and I definitely would not use a pitching wedge on a green and have never seen MC on a golf course. I would also point out I am not a slow player nor do I miss the ball.
I regret that you are once again way off the mark regarding who I am.

There you go Jonny doe boy, is your MC a different one to my MC.

This is not Waterton but Woodthorpe where the club were holding a golf day this year. I was suggesting that due to the virus he should avoid the rough and bunkers because they had not been prepared as you would expect. If I was you I would put the shovel down and stop digging that hole you are sinking into.
Where does it say I have played at the same time as MC and I don’t know who you are stalking at Waterton it is not me.

It just rolls of your tongue John boy, i think you'll say owt bar your prayers, that's an old saying off Linton road

I admit I may not hit every shot perfectly but I know a liar like Johnson unfortunately you don’t and I guess because your defence is usually just a string of well worn insults you are known to the moderators who warn you accordingly.
What do you mean by change your buggy, you clearly don’t know the first thing about golf or me.

Here we go again restricting numbers to a maximum of six. They also suggest if you feel unwell go for a test the problem is that they now admit that the testing system put in place cannot cope but they hope to have resolved the problem in a few weeks. The alternative is to go on a 150 mile round trip which they consider acceptable because apparently Cummins tested it recently when he was having trouble seeing a disaster about to hit the country.