People outside of Runcorn may be forgiven for thinking that the Old Town is in terminal decline, because of a few badly boarded up shops and a much-needed lick of paint, but it is really that bad?
True the variety of shops are not the same as they used to be in the old days, but for some people it still has everything they want.
We could still do with some upmarket clothes and shoes shops and a Supermarket or two.
It’s hard to believe the Old Town is now a centre for beauty treatments with at least 16 hairdressers including nail bars and tanning salons, the females of Runcorn are certainly well pampered to in the Old Town.
There are lots of good cafes and pubs, but no really good upmarket restaurants for a great night out as yet, but I’m sure they won’t be far behind the new development when it happens.
The worst thing about the Old Town is seeing the shrinking of the indoor market; it will probably take a lot of hard work to improve it.
I have been saying for years we should take a leaf out of Frodsham’s book and have a regular out door market as well.
I would like to see farmers markets and continental markets encouraged as these will help draw people back to the Old Town during the daytime.
The Old Town needs a spring clean and some improvement to its car parking space and more businesses should take advantage of the new shop front scheme, this would help improve the image of the Old Town and improve trade.
I would like to see more local sponsors of new benches, flowerbeds and hanging baskets, and outdoor events, this in keeping with the village look we always had.
Experts say when investigating what’s happening to an area, look for wine bars, hairdressers, estate agents, these indicate if an area is up and coming or not.
Having so far counted at least nine estate agents, two wine bars and hundreds of new apartments, things at last seem to be improving.
Really most things are available in the Old Town if people take the trouble to get out of their cars and walk around, try it you may be surprised, there are still well over a hundred shops in all.
Having said that, there is no reason if and when new upmarket shops and restaurants are built that the Old Town shouldn’t thrive again. So lets keep our fingers crossed and if you haven’t been down to the Old Town for years and have forgotten what’s on the doorstep, why not save your fuel bill and shop locally.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
The Beauty Of Runcorn: wonderful folk in the wirral--- after a 2 hr bus w