State of the High Street
I drove through Reigate today. This is a town which is often said by Dorking residents to be a better town than Dorking. In recent years there has been a number of nice bars and trendy clothing shops which have opened up in Reigate which has improved the town. Personally I have never been that keen on the overall feel of Reigate High Street, but it has definitely made great progress compared to Dorking.
Driving back into Dorking High Street I must say that there are an increasing number of empty units, not to mention that Puccino's looks absolutely awful and hasn't even been cleared out. In the centre of town Halfords and Clarks also look on the delapidated side - I know that things might change here and indeed will improve if WHSmith moves into Choices. But something needs to be done asap!
Dorking has a beautiful High Street, but action does need to be taken now to save its overall appearance.
posted by The Cockerel @ 11:11 PM
7 Comments:
Completely agree with you on this. I don't know what Reigate has to offer all the traders that chose to trade there, but if the amount of high class clothes shops, gift shops and restaurants that are in reigate were in dorking ( in my opinion a much nicer town) dorking would be thriving.What we have here in dorking is empty shops or charity shops!!
I also agree that Dorking is looking increasingly rundown. Look at the pavements which are covered in chewing gum, shards of glass and the grease from the bloody kebab shop! Reigate and Banstead Council have put in new pavements at great expense whilst Mole Valley is still contemplating whether to install a bloody Cockerel on the Deepdene roundabout. At least the hanging baskets look nice in Dorking. Mole Valley has ignored the plight of Dorking town centre for many years at the expense of Leatherhead. Dorking needs brand new pavements as they are quite dangerous and the roads are astrocious! Where is the money going to????
I have a fairly new business which i would like to trade in the high street, but the same old story too expensive.
Also having been on a pub crawl on friday night, the town was dead. I havent been out in Dorking for 1 1/2 years and couldn't belive that arty p's price for a bottle of Becks is £3.10...what a rip off..you can buy 24 bottle of becks for a tenner in sainsburys
Mole Valley are accountable for the terrible run down state of the town. It is an indignation that a town that has been voted in a poll as one of the best towns in the country to live in is in such a sorry state. With i would estimate a quarter of the shop frontage in the high street empty and derilict, the existing businesses suffering greatly and yet rumours rife that worse is to come. Mole Valley has to spend serious money on the High Street to uplift it to the standards of a modern, individual, smart and BUSY street that Dorking residents can be proud of.
Mole Valley are NOT responsible for the state of the pavements and the roads in Dorking -- it is Surrey County Council's responsiblity! However the councillors of Mole Valley are to blame for not speaking up on behalf of Dorking to get things done. It is a disgrace that it is almost six months on since a car crashed into the railings above the war memorial, that still NOTHING has been done on this issue. Apparently, Mole Valley and Surrey County Council are at loggerheads and there seems that there will be no resolution in the very near future. The pavements are in a dire state -- countless cracks and I have seen quite a few people trip and fall over because they are in such poor shape. The roads do not fare much better -- potholes galore!
Do not despair. Although there are a lot of empty shops at the moment -- most of them are under offer. Rumours are Subway are interested in the former Brown's Cafe unit. This could be bad news for the likes of Chimes, Doorsteps of Dorking etc. Rents are much lower than the likes of Reigate and Epsom. The problem with Dorking is that it is badly promoted (if at all....) by Dorking Town Centre Management (DTCM), the independent shops get NO support from DCTM, the units are simply too small for the big name chain shops and that the units in St. Martin's Walk are being kept empty on purpose, so that Sainsbury's can get their way and get their permission for their damn superstore!
If the shops are too small for all the big name retailers, what about the one off traders that are in all the other towns, why don't these small traders take the small shops?
News on the Cockerel ---- the cost of this bloody project has increased from £20,000 to £25,000 and will appear on the Deepdene roundabout at the end of August, according to the Dorking Ad. What a joke! Wouldn't the money be better spent on replacing the old, tatty pavements on the High Street, West Street and South Street. I am so embarrassed when visitors come to see our beautiful town and the pavements are covered in chewing gum, spit, fag ends and glass. So, well done Mr. Maltby on going ahead with your stupid, moronic project and I sincerely hope it fails! Let's place bets on the blog, on how long the Cockerel will last without being vandalised, damaged etc.
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