Shoppers have been warned to ‘use it or lose it’ by business owners after their coastal community was labelled a ‘zombie town’ due to the number of boarded-up premises.
More than a quarter of commercial properties in Lowestoft, Suffolk, are now permanently shuttered – almost double the national vacancy rate.
Many expired businesses have painted scenes or drawings in their windows in a desperate attempt to distract passers-by from the empty space inside.
It is the latest business district suffering a seemingly irreversible decline caused by the growth of online shopping and out of town retail parks.
Waterlooville in Hampshire, Bicester in Oxfordshire and Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester are among those trying to turn their fortunes around.
Shoppers have been warned to ‘use it or lose it’ by business owners after their coastal community was labelled a ‘zombie town’
More than a quarter of commercial properties in Lowestoft, Suffolk, are now permanently shuttered – almost double the national vacancy rate
It is the latest business district suffering a seemingly irreversible decline caused by the growth of online shopping and out of town retail parks
Waterlooville in Hampshire, Bicester in Oxfordshire and Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester are among those trying to turn their fortunes around
Many expired businesses have painted scenes or drawings in their windows in a desperate attempt to distract passers-by from the empty space inside
High Street and St. Peter’s Street junction, Lowestoft. (Left) In the late 1970s (right) today. Sarah Jones, 52, a shop assistant, said: ‘It was totally different back in 1984. You had enthusiasm here. It was completely busy’
Clive Marshall, 84, who runs a fruit and veg stall on Lowestoft high street, said he started off at the Britten Centre, a covered shopping centre, in the 1980s
Clive Marshall, 84, who runs a fruit and veg stall on Lowestoft high street, said he started off at the Britten Centre, a covered shopping centre, in the 1980s.
‘The town was busier then. It had fish stalls, flower stalls and butchers but over time it’s decreased and people go out of town to shopping areas,’ he added.
‘The council decided to shut the market, which was a backwards step. There were eight or ten stalls there which brought people into the town centre but they decided ‘no’.’
His business has survived by diversifying into world foods and rices but he added: ‘It’s gone downhill so fast.
‘Go to places like Southwold and they’ve got lots of little privately-owned shops and that’s what people want. Those shops are small and friendly.’
Sarah Jones, 52, a shop assistant, said: ‘It was totally different back in 1984. You had enthusiasm here. It was completely busy. A lot of shops were open in those days.’
Matt Wade, who has owned the Annatar gift shop with his wife Jenny for ten years, said they had been weathering the storm but the outlook was bleak elsewhere.
‘There’s not really a lot that can be done for the empty shops. The face of the high street is changing and we as retailers need to change with it.
‘The only way shops will reopen is if people start easing off on Amazon purchases and start shopping in town.’
Sarah Jones, 52, a shop assistant, said: ‘It was totally different back in 1984. You had enthusiasm here. It was completely busy. A lot of shops were open in those days’
An former O2 shop, which now sits empty.
Lowestoft Swing Bridge early 1900s. Many expired businesses have painted scenes or drawings in their windows in a desperate attempt to distract passers-by from the empty space inside
Tonning Street, Lowestoft early 1900s (left) and today (right). Business owners have complained that the future looks bleak
Phillip Allen, 69 with his son Henry 33 outside Raphael Crafts housed in the old Star Supply Stores
The Star Supply Store photographed in the early 1900s. Bernard Ladd, 72, said: ‘The town appears to be finding it very, very hard to attract new business. Sadly, it slowly seems to be becoming a ghost town’
London Road Lowestoft. Locals said they feared the town had entered a downward spiral that was difficult to halt
Bev Ross, joint owner of games and action figures store Phoenix Farrago in Lowestoft which replaced a Jessops, said: ‘We opened in November and people have been very good to us. But it goes without saying, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
‘We had a good Christmas, it was wonderful seeing all the local people coming in, but shops are feast or famine – and we are in the famine stage at the moment.’
Locals said they feared the town had entered a downward spiral that was difficult to halt.
Bernard Ladd, 72, said: ‘The town appears to be finding it very, very hard to attract new business. Sadly, it slowly seems to be becoming a ghost town.’
Lifelong resident Elizabeth Bloice added: ‘We were a big tourist centre and, while we still have got a beautiful seafront and historic parts of the town, when you come into the town centre parts of it are derelict – and that is just not what visitors want to see.
‘Now we have to go out of town to find what we need. If you don’t drive, it is particularly difficult.’
Chris Thomas, who has lived in the area for more than four decades, said: ‘The town centre is the lifeblood of the town and if you kill that off, it’s almost a death knell to the town.
‘People used to come to the town centre just to browse the shops. That’s all gone now.
‘In its heyday, you would come into Lowestoft, browse the shops and you could buy everything you wanted – from a safety pin to a tuxedo.’
Jillian James, 76, who was visiting town to return some trousers, said: ‘I’ve lived in Lowestoft all my life. Shopwise, it’s not dreadful. You have hardly anything anywhere.
‘You used to be able to come down here and spend the whole day but now there’s nothing here and you’re here for ten minutes. It’s all charity shops.’
Jillian James, 76, who was visiting town to return some trousers, said: ‘I’ve lived in Lowestoft all my life. Shopwise, it’s not dreadful. You have hardly anything anywhere
Ms James said: ‘You used to be able to come down here and spend the whole day but now there’s nothing here and you’re here for ten minutes. It’s all charity shops’
Chris Thomas, who has lived in the area for more than four decades, said: ‘The town centre is the lifeblood of the town and if you kill that off, it’s almost a death knell to the town
The cost of living crisis, along with soaring interest rates, has heaped further pressure on the retail sector
London Road North, Lowestoft early 1900s. Now all of the big supermarkets have gone from the centre of town, while Argos has also moved out
Retired businessman Michael Cook, who was part of family run Cooks Furnishers which closed in 2019 after 107 years, recalled the town’s heyday in the 1970s and 1980s when the only external competition was ‘book clubs and shopping catalogues’.
He said: ‘There were department stores including Catlings, Co-op, Chadds and Tuttle, and it is surprising how many furniture shops there used to be. I can remember, as well as Cooks Furnishers, there was Percy Wiggs, Browns, Woodhouse, George Armes and Smiths.
‘Then there were men’s outfitters John Collier, Burton, Harry Holgate and Hepworths.
‘Unfortunately, now you have to go out of town to a retail park to buy things in person, with the exception of Marks and Spencer, which is now the only reason many people go into town.’
‘The change in retail has seen vape shops, gaming businesses and charity shops take on some empty units which is a shame.’
All of the big supermarkets have gone from the centre of town, while Argos has also moved out.
The cost of living crisis, along with soaring interest rates, has heaped further pressure on the retail sector.
Town officials in Lowestoft have fought back with schemes similar to those enacted in other struggling high streets around the country.
These include plans to swap derelict sites to social uses such as community hubs, opening yet more coffee shops and charity stores, or simply knocking premises down and replacing them with housing.
But local historian Ivan Bunn, who last year made a series of films called High Street Histories for children to learn about the town’s main thoroughfare through the decades, warned these weren’t solutions that would bring shoppers back.
‘It’s better to see something in the shops rather than standing empty but it’s kind of a sticking plaster [solution],’ he said.
Linking the town’s decline to the end of its time as a prosperous fishing port 50 years ago, he added: ‘It’s wrong to look at Lowestoft as an isolated problem. It’s indicative of the big problems of all communities and towns and cities in this country at the moment.
‘Everywhere is declining for all sorts of reasons and one of those is online shopping.
‘There’s also out of town shopping centres. We do have lots of shops but they are not in Lowestoft anymore. They are on the periphery now.’
A banner pinned to some mesh fencing around a derelict brownfield site on the edge of town proclaims ‘Celebration Sunday’.
London Road, Lowestof early 1900s. Town officials in Lowestoft have fought back with schemes similar to those enacted in other struggling high streets around the country
A survey last year by East Suffolk Council found there were 96 empty shops out of 366 premises in Lowestoft
Some link the town’s decline to the end of its time as a prosperous fishing port 50 years ago
More than 14,000 stores shut across Britain last year, according to accountants PwC, who analysed information compiled by the Local Data Company
Organised by East Suffolk Council and Historic England, it advertises a day of events in town today(SAT 23rd) which is intended to give the run-down town a boost – but few knew about it.
Stewart Adams, 18, who was working in his father’s bike shop, said: ‘The council plan all these events but we don’t get told about them.’
He added: ‘It’s dead [here]. There’s not much here for the youth. There’s nothing for us.’
However, some insisted the town had improved recently.
Henry Allen, 33, who runs a craft shop with his father Philip, 69, said: ‘It is probably getting better now than it has for many years. Trade has been pretty average through the year.
‘Lowestoft has got its problems but it’s cheap and cheerful.’
A survey last year by East Suffolk Council found there were 96 empty shops out of 366 premises in Lowestoft. This equates to 26 per cent, up from 24 per cent the previous year.
This is the highest in the region and far exceeds the national average of 13.9 per cent, while in Norfolk market towns the average was 6.9 per cent.
More than 14,000 stores shut across Britain last year, according to accountants PwC, who analysed information compiled by the Local Data Company.
Thousands also opened but the net loss was almost 5,000 – or 14 per day.
Chains that struggled with financial problems included fashion chaisn M&Co and Joules, stationers Paperchase, general store Wilko, and pub group Stonegate, which runs Slug & Lettuce.
Those that filled gaps included discount retailer Aldi, coffee chains Starbucks and Costa and fast food chains Greggs and Domino’s.
Meanwhile, transnational online retailers like Amazon continue to attract spending with cheap prices driven by clever corporate tax policies that mean little is paid in countries where they operate.
Amazon paid £781 million in national insurance contributions, corporation tax and business rates in the UK 2022.
But this equated to less than three per cent of the £24 billion turnover it had here.
East Suffolk Council said regeneration plans included transforming a former Post Office site, work to shopfronts funded through the High Street Heritage Actions Zones programme, and ‘private sector funded works’ underway at the former Palmers department store building.
A spokesman added: ‘Although town centre vacancy rates are an important indicator or local economic and retail health, they should be considered within the context of the general economic and cultural shift away from communities wanting their centres to be mainly for retail needs, to wanting them to offer a more holistic social, leisure and entertainment experience, and opting to meet some or most of their retail needs online instead.’
