Residents of Tamworth in the West Midlands have described their town as “crap”, “horrible” and “dying” as a growing number of shops close down, with locals choosing to shop at a nearby retail park instead of the high street.
Speaking to the Express, several long-term residents voiced frustration over the town's decline, citing business rates and rents as key pressures. Clive Small, 80, a retired garage proprietor, said simply: “It’s crap; it’s a dying town.” His long-term partner, Carol Onion, 71, lamented the loss of John Lewis, which has been replaced by Home Bargains, adding: “It’s disastrous. It’s on a downward spiral.”
Sharon, 65, a former factory worker who did not wish to disclose her second name, said: “It’s a horrible town. It’s not like it used to be; all the shops are closing down.”
Residents blame retail park and town centre changes
Glen Nicholson, 64, a retired engineer, said: “It’s totally destroyed. Its demise has been about for years.” He criticised the town's Ankerside shopping centre, saying it “should never have been built in the first place”, denouncing it as “as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike”.
Nicholson, who moved to Tamworth in 1969, also argued that the town centre should not have been pedestrianised and that a one-way system should not have been installed. He called for more free parking, adding: “Idiots. It’s gone and it ain’t coming back. It’s long gone.”
Josephine Lewis, Nicholson's partner of 33 years, said: “I think this bit of the town, it’s a disgrace, really. We need more shops. We’re having to travel over to the retail park.” Ruth Morton, 57, who sat behind the counter of her brother’s shop, Tamworth’s Toolbox, said: “Ventura has killed it. All that’s in town are Turkish barbers and coffee shops, you know. Everybody will say the same.”
Crime, safety and social concerns raised
Morton also mentioned that the premises had been broken into, saying: “Police don’t do anything, what’s the point? Somebody broke into our shed out the back and caused £500 worth of damage. We had it on camera and we named him, but the CPS threw it out. Not enough evidence.”
Roland Slaney, 71, a former miner, said officials had tried to make the town “a mini-city”, with everything “built up on outskirts”, yet Tamworth’s hospital, police station and courts have gone. He added: “It’s sad. It’s been destroyed.” Slaney also lamented the number of barbers, vape shops and charity shops.
Ellen Taylor, 69, said: “There is no decent shops or anything, is there? There’s nothing to come into the town for, really.” She added that she had fallen over on uneven paving slabs by the town’s college a couple of weeks ago.
Hopes for recovery amid business rate changes
Celina Marshall, 44, a chef, said: “When we were growing up, the town used to be booming.” She remembers a butcher's, cake shop and sweet shop, but now there are “hardly any shops at all”. She feels particularly sorry for the elderly as the centre of the town no longer has a post office, adding: “There's nothing for the kids to do. They’re on the streets and things like that. It needs to be better. The council needs to be pulling their finger out.”
Marshall pointed to areas she feels are doing much better, such as Litchfield, Burton, Birmingham, Nottingham and Derby. However, with lower rates, she feels Tamworth will be able to “bounce back”. John Healey announced a major change to business taxes in the Budget yesterday, with the threshold at which small companies start paying rates rising from £12,000 to £18,000, paid for by “raising taxes on gambling”.
Harman Singh, 18, who stood behind the counter of his father’s general store, said there is “more resentment in the town” and a “definite increase in far-right views”. He said the shop often sees youngsters “loitering and shouting”, adding: “Why they’re doing it, I can say. But kids like that, they’re not actually racist. They have bad parents. They’re not bad kids, right?” Overall, he feels the town is “just dying a little bit”. Tamworth Borough Council has been contacted for comment.
