Have Your Say: Reviving the High Street

[Michael]

   Do not worry. Coffee shops will eventually go the same way Mike

[Ian]

Unfortunately, they are not able to stop retail chains falling into administration, they are not able to command the people of Conwy to spend their money in shops that they do not want to, and it is not within their power to force landlords to charge lower rents.

Perhaps not directly, but they are capable of devising and enacting schemes that would not only facilitate better trading conditions but perhaps even draw people from further afield into the town centres. Twenty four years ago proposals to make much of Mostyn Street into a pedestrian shopping area were advanced.  That scheme might have had a radical impact on the shopping centre of town.  However,  it was  - as with much else - simply talked out. Local councils have a duty to take the lead over with sort of thing, even if - in the short term - it might prove unpopular.  One thing's for sure: whatever the effect it might have had it would be unlikely to be any worse than it presently is.

[Ian48]

I believe the pedestrianisation proposal fell because the shopkeepers and traders were dead against it, so it was bound to fail really.

[Blongb]

Mostyn Street was never designed to be pedestrianized. If it were, God forbid, it would really be the death knell of Llandudno. Traffic flow is bad enough as it is but take away one of our two main arteries and watch every Business in the top end of town wither and die. Remember Bog Island was only pedestrianized because Mostyn Estates wanted to bring back the Trams, as was the stupid redevelopment of Prince Edward Square, which included the ridiculous roundabout at the junction of North Parade and Church Walks. What would do the town’s traders a great service is for the County Council to employ a traffic management professional and the reintroduction of mass reasonably priced or even free Parking.

[Ian]

I believe the pedestrianisation proposal fell because the shopkeepers and traders were dead against it, so it was bound to fail really.

That's exactly why it was defeated and also a big part of the reason why the top end of Mostyn street is rapidly doing a pretty good transformation into a ghost town.

Mostyn Street was never designed to be pedestrianized. If it were, God forbid, it would really be the death knell of Llandudno. Traffic flow is bad enough as it is but take away one of our two main arteries and watch every Business in the top end of town wither and die.

Those were the very arguments trotted out when it was first proposed. But certainly nationally, pedestrianised areas have - in the main - flourished and frequently rejuvenated town centres. And of course you couldn't simply pedestrianise Mostyn street in isolation; you'd have to make changes to both the prom and Madoc street, and that would have both hoteliers and businesses in Mostyn street screaming. But doing nothing has resulted in the slow death of most of the top end of Mostyn Street over the years, so I seriously doubt changing it then would have made it any worse, and might have made it a lot better.

All the research that's ever been done on shopping habits in the last twnety years consistently shows two things: shoppers almost unanimously prefer pedestrianised shopping areas and - secondly - shops have to sell things which can't be bought without touching or trying through Amazon and its ilk.  Ironically, that means more small shops, selling clothing, footwear and heavier domestic items, such as dinner services.

It's often said the internet is killing the high street, but when Amazon is thinking about setting up  local outlets then towns need to find a way of accommodating the needs of shoppers and that has to be council-led.

[Ian48]

Blongb - I think I might disagree with you on Prince Edward Square, I think it looks much better now than it used to. I will admit that it was a shame that we lost the weeping elms, but the Cenotaph looks a great deal better, setting-wise, than it used to. I think PES was pretty awful before with that old coach stop and the short brown brick walls around it (if my memory serves).

North Western Gardens has been awful for traffic flow out of town, but it did need a makeover as it was looking very scruffy towards the end and the roundabout at the bottom used to look so silly with that incongruous lamp post stuck on top of it.

My own view would be to perhaps pedestrianise Upper Mostyn Street and embrace it as an upmarket cafe/restaurant/bar area (I know the residents would hate it though). Mostyn Street is too long to be a street totally dedicated to shops as it is, as people don't walk the length of it.

I've always liked it when you go to Germany and France in the Summer and they have the cordoned off areas in the middle of pedestrianised streets and squares that belong to cafes and restaurants in the surrounding  buildings, as they take up quite a bit of the dead space and look attractive, with people sitting and drinking in the sun. Granted with our Summers and on a street on an incline like UMS this might not be ideal, but it's nice to imagine!

[Llechwedd]

that furniture shop on Vaughan Street next to the post office has closed down.  Shame but there do seem to be a few and selling "pre-loved" suites probably didn't help them!
Make a great Waitrose.

[Michael]

  So, Llandudno high street has problems? Look at Colwyn Bay.
  An existing double fronted shop with the entrance door in the middle. On Abergele road, the absolutely main road through the town to Abergele. It's been nicely painted and a good job of sign writing on the outside. General appearance is smart and nice.
 So, what goods or services are they selling?
  Only one. An electronic (I think) form of smoking. Apparently legal in non smoking areas. 80 per cent cheaper than tobacco, or so they claim.
 And you think Llandudnos got problems.  Mike

[Dave]

Imagine if there was a display like this one in Llandudno, the draw would be huge, a modern day rival to  Blackpool's  yesteryear show piece.
LG Optimus Hyper Facade in Berlin - Long Version

[Yorkie]

Many of Llandudno's shops are pandering to the tourists and as a shopping centre for locals and those in the surrounding towns it is becoming farcical.

 ZXZ

[Merddin Emrys]

But Llandudno was built for tourists, I live locally and have no trouble getting anything? 

[Fester]

Indeed Merddin.

Yorkie, what is it you are looking to purchase, that you can't buy locally?

A genuine question, because if I am intrigued by your reply, I might open another shop!

[Yorkie]

Indeed Merddin.

Yorkie, what is it you are looking to purchase, that you can't buy locally?

A genuine question, because if I am intrigued by your reply, I might open another shop!

Now that is an idea, maybe I should move into retail - !   

[Ian]

With the demise of Jessops and HMV Mostyn Street is starting to look a little bereft at the ex-woollies' end. It's a great shame, because Llandudno is probably unique in offering covered shopping walkways around the town, the very aspect which acts as a magnet for those visiting out of town shopping centres such as Cheshire Oaks.  This topic is about ideas for improving the High street and - specifically - Mostyn Street. So what are the possible solutions?

We know the biggest issues are the lack of parking and the sheer volume of traffic along Mostyn Street and you all know I've long been a proponent of pedestrianising the place.  But I don't belive we've ever taken a really serious look at what - in traffic and pedestrian terms, anyway - could be done by the council without a massive amount of expenditure.  So here're some thoughts:

1. Suppose Conwy were to look at the road layout and decide to make a very large one-way system?  The Prom would be one-way running West, with Madoc,  Chapel and possibly Augusta Streets being made one-way running East. 
2. The parking bays on the prom would be converted to angled bays, the same method as used in Colwyn Bay, and  that would probably double the number of cars that could be parked.
3.  Madoc Street - now being one-way - would have one side of the road converted to angled bays, which ought to afford more parking there.
4. Isa, Somerset and Bodafon Streets would all be one-way running East.
5. Mostyn Street - from North Parade to Vaughan Street - would be paved and made restricted entry to vehicles - similar to the system employed in Chester.
6.  At St George's place and Trinity squares parking bays for the physically disabled could be provided, along with the existing taxi ranks.
7.  The delightfully broad St Mary's Road could also be fitted with angled bays to offer more parking

It's clear, also, that many of the tiny back roads would have to be made one-way, or given special access permissions. But I sometimes wonder; do people really know how good they have it in Llandudno?  There are precious few towns, for instance, where you can park directly outside M & S and where access to almost all the traders is so relatively easy. I'm not saying that had the council had the courage they ought to have had and made these changes 25 years ago that the big names wouldn't have disappeared: that's because of factors clearly beyond anyone's control.  But such a scheme wouldn't cost that much, would definitely lead to a better shopping experience in Llandudno, would help to set the stage for a revival of Mostyn Street and - perhaps most importantly - might act to attract stores back into town  when the economic upturn finally begins.

[SDQ]

They tried pedestrianising Mostyn Street a few years ago and it just didn't work. The town and its roads just aren't big enough to accommodate the extra parking places lost by closing the main street and people weren't willing to walk from the car parks on Gloddaeth Avenue. They put yellow lines the whole right hand side of Madoc Street so that parking was only on one side to help ease the traffic with the larger vehicles that were now using it but at 9 o'clock on the very first morning the whole right hand side of Madoc Street was lined with cars with disabled badges in their windscreens. I know because I was driving a bus and struggled to get through, it was chaotic.