mhs123 Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Today I along with my son went into town and i have to say what an unsightly shit hole it is becoming. Its very nice at the highcross and a few streets near to there are also quite nice but the vast majority of the surrounding areas are awful. There were piss heads drinking special brew a the cathedral, the indoor market smelt of piss etc etc. Dont call me a slob because i am not but the general appearance of people was scruffy and there personal hygiene was very questionable to say the least. welcome to Leicester in 2013.
Strokes Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Its been like this for as long as i can remember, was this your first trip into town?
Tommy G Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Did you mean snob not slob? Probably the worst word you could of inserted there! If you think our city is bad try waling around cov, middlesborough etc
Guest MattP Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Today I along with my son went into town and i have to say what an unsightly shit hole it is becoming. Its very nice at the highcross and a few streets near to there are also quite nice but the vast majority of the surrounding areas are awful. There were piss heads drinking special brew a the cathedral, the indoor market smelt of piss etc etc. Dont call me a slob because i am not but the general appearance of people was scruffy and there personal hygiene was very questionable to say the least. welcome to Leicester in 2013. When was the last time you went in? It's been that way for years now, the area around the clock tower is absolutely disgusting now. I'll walk around it rather than through it to get somewhere. The class of people is the lowest I can ever remember, Tommy has a point though, go to Luton or Glasgow and see what you find.
Guest MattP Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Truth is all city centres are like this now. Simply not true, I've wandered around Towcester, Cambridge and Bath in the last few months and all three of those were lovely. Even places we used to call shitholes like Cheltenham, Manchester and Bristol etc are far cleaner than here now.
Kitchandro Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 I've never thought it to be that bad on the whole, but certain parts are shitty. I've always thought it's a real shame because there are some really nice old buildings but they're mostly sandwiched between some complete eyesores. It could be really nice walking through the centre of Leicester, I like the musicians playing on the street, the atmosphere at the market etc, but there are a few things that just let it down. Money should be put in to constructing new buildings, I don't see why the market needs a makeover (for me that is supposed to look like a working class market) whilst other parts just look scruffy and out of place and nothing is done about them. As for scumbags drinking on the street, well you get them in every City centre.
ADK Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 I don't really think ours is worse than those. Part of the problem with Leicester is the station isn't near the highcross.
lavrentis Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Was walking through town other day and someone walking behind me was spitting every 5 seconds. Literally had to stop to make him go past me. Our town centre is okay, it lacks the charm of other cities as the environment doesn't look very historical. And it does some terrible buildings.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 It's difficult to ignore the decline, but it's just as hard to know what to do about it. A lot of the businesses that used to be in the city centre have either closed down or moved to business parks on the outskirts, and retail has taken a battering for all sorts of reasons that everyone knows already. Granby Street has been struggling for as long as I can remember, but crikey it's gone completely down the pan in the last couple of years. It's a sad state of affairs when the closure of Poundstretcher sends a place further downmarket - about the only new things that have opened along there in recent years apart from the inevitable small Tesco and Sainsburys have been a Ladbrokes and a pawnbrokers. There have been loads of pissheads around that part of town ever since the Dawn Centre opened, but I'd swear that it's getting worse, even though I believe a lot of the services that drew them in have now been cut. I walked behind three tanked up hoons the other day, one of whom couldn't be arsed to wait at the supercrossing and then just walked out into the moving traffic. Next stop: off licence (presumably to get some sweets). Is it time for an Ipswich style high strength alcohol ban? If you were Peter Soulsby - ethereal, beautiful creature that he is - what would you do to improve things? I know they've been slagged off to high heaven, but I can sort of see the point of projects like Jubilee Square and the relaying of all the pavements, as I'm not sure what else the council can do. I'm just not convinced they really help, ultimately
Voll Blau Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Build a tramway? I've always been impressed by cities with trams. I reckon it should be one of the criteria for football clubs being allowed to compete in the Europa League.
Tielemans63 Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 The tarmacing of Gallowtree Gate looks & around the Clock Tower looks ****ing awful. It looked so much better when it was paved - what makes it worse is that it was probably done because some **** tripped on a loose slab and then sued the council, wouldn't surprise me one but if that was the actual reason.
separator Posted 1 October 2013 Posted 1 October 2013 Build a tramway? I've always been impressed by cities with trams. I reckon it should be one of the criteria for football clubs being allowed to compete in the Europa League. Croydon has a tram network and that place is a complete shithole.
outfoxed77 Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 It's difficult to ignore the decline, but it's just as hard to know what to do about it. A lot of the businesses that used to be in the city centre have either closed down or moved to business parks on the outskirts, and retail has taken a battering for all sorts of reasons that everyone knows already. Granby Street has been struggling for as long as I can remember, but crikey it's gone completely down the pan in the last couple of years. It's a sad state of affairs when the closure of Poundstretcher sends a place further downmarket - about the only new things that have opened along there in recent years apart from the inevitable small Tesco and Sainsburys have been a Ladbrokes and a pawnbrokers. There have been loads of pissheads around that part of town ever since the Dawn Centre opened, but I'd swear that it's getting worse, even though I believe a lot of the services that drew them in have now been cut. I walked behind three tanked up hoons the other day, one of whom couldn't be arsed to wait at the supercrossing and then just walked out into the moving traffic. Next stop: off licence (presumably to get some sweets). Is it time for an Ipswich style high strength alcohol ban? If you were Peter Soulsby - ethereal, beautiful creature that he is - what would you do to improve things? I know they've been slagged off to high heaven, but I can sort of see the point of projects like Jubilee Square and the relaying of all the pavements, as I'm not sure what else the council can do. I'm just not convinced they really help, ultimately You see this is where you need me and my van.
Parafox Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 The council bought the most expensive paving slabs they could find and they still look crap. Soiled, stained, covered in chewing gum (it's as if the entire population chews gum and spits it on the street). Just dirty and unsightly.
midland_red Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 Long rant coming here (sorry). 1) its not fair to compare Leicester to Bath, Cambridge etc. It you compare to Snottingham, Chaventry, Sheffield, Bradford, Bristol et al you see that Leicester has one of the best victorian/edwardian cityscapes in the country, especially as the crappy 1970's City Council HQ is coming down 2) the real problem is that too many Leicester people haven't cared about their heritage - Leicester is probably unique as the only industrial working class city with serious history - the Jewry Wall isn't just roman remains - it's the largest piece of roman masonry still present in England; a bishop sat in Leicester long before one did in Durham, Norwich or Salisbury 3) yet the previous council demolished the bowstring bridge at Bruanstone Gate and were allowed to get away with it 4) and you can';t just blame the coiuncil - citizens have a responsibility too - when the Mercury did a series on the approach roads into the city they talked to people in Frog Island who said the abandoned factories should be knocked down - No they shouldn't they should be restored as small business units or flats - they are part of our heritage - what makes Leicester what it is 5) the present mayor seems to be the first city leader in decades to have a vision of what Leicester should look like - trying to undo the damage of the Southgate underpass as far as possible - fair play to him. But he needs more power - for example really and truly, Oadby, Wigston, Braunstone Town should be part of the city thee days so that things can be properly planned. He needs to same level of control over transport that the Mayor of London has.Its good that the 1970s pit that it the market - poky and nasty - is being knocked down Rant over -you get the picture. City fans should also be City fans and take pride in our past and care for our heritage. Cities become shitpits when no-one does
hairy Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 The problem with Leicester is there are only so many people who will come here to shop and the shopping area is too big so when you build a new shopping centre the shoppers move with it leaving all the other, previously busy areas empty. The Council or the regeneration lot should look to bring businesses to Granby Street for example or housing. The attempt at the cultural area was a good one but it is too far from the centre to make a difference. Parafox, the slabs were introduced because chewing gum can be removed from them. The problem with them was the supplier ran out part way through as no one thought to check there were enough slabs to complete the job. Friends from Aussie have commented before on how disgusting the gum looks and you cant disagree with them. Back to the OP, try going in at the weekend, its better then.
midland_red Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 agree - there has to be an acceptance that - like all cities - Leicester has too much shopping space. Starting from there we can have a debate about what should be done about Granby st for example. Again, just like other cities there is too much empty office space - often old insurance company buildings. The tax system discriminates against restoring old buildings in favour of cheap new build of course..... but there are not just Leicester problems
Out Foxed Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 granby street needs a real touch up. the council should make it so the front of the shops have to fit a certain criteria in how they look. the highcross is also responsible for sucking the life out of the city and causing dilapidation as shops close down.
lavrentis Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 While they are at it they need to fix Narborough road as well. Absolute state and the streets off it are as well. Graffiti etc.
Parafox Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 While they are at it they need to fix Narborough road as well. Absolute state and the streets off it are as well. Graffiti etc. Maybe due to the high transient student population as well as the multi(or mono)-cultural businesses that set up on a tight budget making them unable to have smart new shop fronts yet have so much stock it spills out onto the street.
Rincewind Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 There are some shops doing well and expanding. Poundland Pawnshops Greggs. Business has boomed over the last couple of years for them.
Guest MattP Posted 2 October 2013 Posted 2 October 2013 There are some shops doing well and expanding. Poundland Pawnshops Greggs. Business has boomed over the last couple of years for them. Poundland in Manchester was shutting down a few weeks ago. Greggs is bound to expand, I'm not a huge fan but they are superb value, cheap and affordable popular products and food for a quick bite. Starbucks have had to re-locate from Gallowtree Gate and they pay no tax according to some so they can't be doing that well in Leicester, HMV similar and some people say they don't either.
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