Bournemouth's Christmas trade 'disappointing' (From Bournemouth Echo)

You would think that these highly experienced people would have worked it out for themselves but perhaps I can help?
Income is stagnant. No rises in salary and overtime etc. curtailed.
Gas, electricity, fuel increasing much faster than inflation.
Car parking charges too high.
No future confidence so people are paying of debt and stuffing a bit of money under the mattress.

I am sure there are many more reasons but when the population is taxed ever higher then there is less to spend in the general economy.

Maybe the greedy landlords need to put there rent down for new business.
I recently went to the bank about starting a new business and they wanted 19.9% to borrow £10k. The quote from barclays was retail is too risky....
Bournemouth open your eyes and stop being stuffy and look at cites like Brighton ....

But despite all that, Bournemouth now seems to have TWO Town Centre Managers in Parker and Dunnett. Something must be going well.

They pulled out all the stops?

Some lights and a few sheds in the square?

The high street is dying and there is no way a few suits in Bournemouth with crappy ideas are going to be able to reverse that.

Car parking charges and a town centre a not insignificant distance from the railway station, businesses crippled by council-imposed rates and by greedy landlords. Oh, and people have less disposeable income to lavish on tat and maybe, just maybe, people are beginning to remember that Christmas is about family and friends not rampant commercialism.

Can I have a fat salary now please?

I don't think there is any evidence that landlords are greedy. They are in debt to the banks too. If the banks could write off half the landlords loans, they would be able to charge lower rents.

BID Town Centre manager Gregg Dunnett was unavailable for comment yesterday..... a very wise move. And as for Nigel Hedges, I can't believe that people actually pay to be members of the BCCI while this muppet is in charge. Just after Tesco and Primark opened and there was a temporary increase in footfall, Hedges was a very big fan of footfall figures proudly proclaiming that the town centre was on the up. Now that the figures are not working in his favour he's not a fan.
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Scrap the BID, its a waste of money, the Chamber of Commerce needs to give Hedges the elbow and get someone who knows what they're talking about.
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Bournemouth town centre at Christmas was no different to the rest of the year - dull, dismal and depressing. The same old sheds, most of which were operated by S&D Leisure, selling tat and an all day bar.
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I may sometimes walk into town for a coffee but the shops are not worth bothering with. If I need to shop its Castlepoint, West Quay or Wimborne otherwise its online.

Thank god for Southampton ..has this council still not seen that a town centre full of bars and clubs will not attract shoppers..it's stores we need not drinking and eating venues.

What about Christmas light around Avenue Road and loop to Bourne Ave at present nothing exists. Also No stores work as a team regarding late night opening it is done on ad hoc basics so shoppers have no idea what stores are doing. Think the council needs to organise late night shopping with street entertainment to attract shoppers. Without Stanley Reeves we would have nothing perhaps the council and businesses should work with him and not against his great work, then Bournemouth might improve at festive time.

ianexams wrote:
What about Christmas light around Avenue Road and loop to Bourne Ave at present nothing exists. Also No stores work as a team regarding late night opening it is done on ad hoc basics so shoppers have no idea what stores are doing. Think the council needs to organise late night shopping with street entertainment to attract shoppers. Without Stanley Reeves we would have nothing perhaps the council and businesses should work with him and not against his great work, then Bournemouth might improve at festive time.

why dont the council put a winter wonderland on like other towns and citys instad of a stupid little market that charge over the odds for tat
the german sausage stall was a ripoff charging £4.50 for a hotdog and the stall had noware tfor the staff to wash there hands and they handled food with no gloves ect and the staff there were more intrested on chatting on the phone than serving

can the echo find out if s&d were the only tenders for the market and how long is the tender for ???

Can anyone tell me why I would want to come into Bournemouth Town Centre and pay high parking charges when I can go to exactly the same shops at Castlepoint and pay nothing to park?
Go figure Bournemouth Council. Like everyone else these days I'm watching the pennies and have no intention of giving any more of them than necessary to a bunch of greedy incompetents.

Take note 'Licet Developments' is 'West Central' really needed?
We're entering a triple dip recession with some saying the economy will remain in the doldrums for another ten years.
At least a bus station would be useful!

Dosent take alot of thought as to why the christmas period for shops is poor.Firstly the sheds selling junk and overpriced goods, why give them money.WE should be supporting the shops who contribute all year round. Maybe next year let the existing shops have stalls or sheds outside selling decent stuff and could at least be returned if not suitable.!!

Oh I forgot that may not be able to happen as Bournemouth Council dosent like street traders when it suits them!!

My thoughts are:

The BID is worth it, and will probably be the best thing to revive shopping areas. A statutory levy, money in the kitty and putting on events is the future.

Footfall figures may indicate 'busy-ness' of an area, but how many people are actually carrying shopping bags?

The ice-rink was a good idea, and should be repeated next year. I would suggest the town centre management and BID work towards achieving the following:

1. FREE PARKING. Will the penny ever drop? Even reintroducing free on-street 1 hour parking back to the Town Hall area will help.

2. RENTS - write to all landlords who own shops that have been empty for more than 6 months (via their agents if necessary) and ask them to consider dropping the asking rents. Do the research and make a case.

3. RATES- Consider if the Localism Act allows a reduction in business rates. If it does- then slash the business rates multiplier from about 0.45 to 0.2. for new business occupiers. At the same time DOUBLE the rates for landlords sitting on empty premises from 0.45 to 0.9 or 1.0. And then advertise it: "HALF PRICE BUSINESS RATES FOR 3 YEARS FOR ALL NEW BUSINESSES OPENED IN 2013 ".

4. Write to all the businesses that set up shop in Shaftesbury, Wimborne, Exeter, Winchester etc. but are not in Bournemouth/ Poole? Ask them why? See if they can be persuaded.

5. EVENTS. Consider aiming for at least 2 well managed events EVERY month of the year.

Consider;
Dorset Music Festival, a Jazz and Folk festival, a Go-Kart Grand-Prix race around town, a ‘Robot-Wars Championship in the Square’, an Archery tournament in the Lower Gardens, a Charity Rubber Duck Race in the Bourne Stream, a Dorset and Hampshire Arts and Crafts Exhibition (with FREE exhibition stall space set aside for legitimate local based crafts people to display wares), a ‘Wipe-Out’ style water and inflatable assault cause in the gardens over Summer, a Street/ Hip-Hop and Urban Culture event celebrating dance, music and art, a Wessex Region Food Festival, perhaps 4 big annual parades; a New Years Day Parade, a Gay Pride Parade/ event, a Summer Spectacular Parade, and a Christmas Santa Parade.

Parades should be a spectacle, having ideally at least 3 marching bands/ sound systems at the beginning, middle and end. Also consider getting the huge inflatables that you see in US parades, plus household name celebrities to sign autographs, and floats from big employers handing our freebies/ vouchers/ coupons. Alson consider the costumes... has anybody been to the Sambadrome in Rio for the carnival(?).. it is easily the best show on Earth. The energy, the music, the costumes, you cant help but be stunned by it all. THIS pzazz, and dazzling razzmatazz is what Bournemouth must aim for if it really wants to become Britains Best Resort.

Can I also suggest with the Christmas Parade, which was good last year, but could be much better to have; a dozen or more reindeer, a 'pre-Coke' Santa, (ie a multi-coloured traditional image of Father Christmas), three Kings carrying gifts, more choirs singing carols, perhaps ask local schools if they want to take part. They could be in costume as Elves or reindeer etc. Plus all the big retailers and BID should be involved, even handing out discount vouchers etc. Some local charities could join in with collection boxes.

The Christmas market and christmas lights needs huge improvement. Just see how Bath does it. There are some really excellent markets about, get organised now to make improvements for this coming Christmas.

Oh, and Poole traders... wakey wakey! Bournemouth has 2 BIDs, plus Wimborne has BID, so does Dorchester, and Winchester traders hae just voted to keep their BID. This is the ONLY way to raise enough revenue to make things happen! So get organised and make it happen!

The Seasider wrote:
My thoughts are:

The BID is worth it, and will probably be the best thing to revive shopping areas. A statutory levy, money in the kitty and putting on events is the future.

Footfall figures may indicate 'busy-ness' of an area, but how many people are actually carrying shopping bags?

The ice-rink was a good idea, and should be repeated next year. I would suggest the town centre management and BID work towards achieving the following:

1. FREE PARKING. Will the penny ever drop? Even reintroducing free on-street 1 hour parking back to the Town Hall area will help.

2. RENTS - write to all landlords who own shops that have been empty for more than 6 months (via their agents if necessary) and ask them to consider dropping the asking rents. Do the research and make a case.

3. RATES- Consider if the Localism Act allows a reduction in business rates. If it does- then slash the business rates multiplier from about 0.45 to 0.2. for new business occupiers. At the same time DOUBLE the rates for landlords sitting on empty premises from 0.45 to 0.9 or 1.0. And then advertise it: "HALF PRICE BUSINESS RATES FOR 3 YEARS FOR ALL NEW BUSINESSES OPENED IN 2013 ".

4. Write to all the businesses that set up shop in Shaftesbury, Wimborne, Exeter, Winchester etc. but are not in Bournemouth/ Poole? Ask them why? See if they can be persuaded.

5. EVENTS. Consider aiming for at least 2 well managed events EVERY month of the year.

Consider;
Dorset Music Festival, a Jazz and Folk festival, a Go-Kart Grand-Prix race around town, a ‘Robot-Wars Championship in the Square’, an Archery tournament in the Lower Gardens, a Charity Rubber Duck Race in the Bourne Stream, a Dorset and Hampshire Arts and Crafts Exhibition (with FREE exhibition stall space set aside for legitimate local based crafts people to display wares), a ‘Wipe-Out’ style water and inflatable assault cause in the gardens over Summer, a Street/ Hip-Hop and Urban Culture event celebrating dance, music and art, a Wessex Region Food Festival, perhaps 4 big annual parades; a New Years Day Parade, a Gay Pride Parade/ event, a Summer Spectacular Parade, and a Christmas Santa Parade.

Parades should be a spectacle, having ideally at least 3 marching bands/ sound systems at the beginning, middle and end. Also consider getting the huge inflatables that you see in US parades, plus household name celebrities to sign autographs, and floats from big employers handing our freebies/ vouchers/ coupons. Alson consider the costumes... has anybody been to the Sambadrome in Rio for the carnival(?).. it is easily the best show on Earth. The energy, the music, the costumes, you cant help but be stunned by it all. THIS pzazz, and dazzling razzmatazz is what Bournemouth must aim for if it really wants to become Britains Best Resort.

Can I also suggest with the Christmas Parade, which was good last year, but could be much better to have; a dozen or more reindeer, a 'pre-Coke' Santa, (ie a multi-coloured traditional image of Father Christmas), three Kings carrying gifts, more choirs singing carols, perhaps ask local schools if they want to take part. They could be in costume as Elves or reindeer etc. Plus all the big retailers and BID should be involved, even handing out discount vouchers etc. Some local charities could join in with collection boxes.

The Christmas market and christmas lights needs huge improvement. Just see how Bath does it. There are some really excellent markets about, get organised now to make improvements for this coming Christmas.

Oh, and Poole traders... wakey wakey! Bournemouth has 2 BIDs, plus Wimborne has BID, so does Dorchester, and Winchester traders hae just voted to keep their BID. This is the ONLY way to raise enough revenue to make things happen! So get organised and make it happen!

...assault 'course'... not 'cause'... !

Councils need to recognise that with the proliferation of out-of-town malls (eg Castlepoint), the default transport mode for the majority of shoppers is their car. By imposing an additional tax on car-borne shoppers visiting the town centre (i.e. in the form of parking fees and fines), surely it is not too difficult to work out what the next course of action should be.
Decision makers need to stop viewing the motorist as a cash cow. Having a car gives consumers more options to spend their money away from Bournemouth altogether. As a result of the parking charges, I wonder how much money 'leaks' out of the local economy altogether, as Bournemouth shoppers take their money thirty miles up the A31 to Southampton?

And it will get worse if the parking stays high, a good idea reduce councillors fees and cut car park charges , that should make a fortune.

The Seasider wrote:

The Seasider wrote:
My thoughts are:

The BID is worth it, and will probably be the best thing to revive shopping areas. A statutory levy, money in the kitty and putting on events is the future.

Footfall figures may indicate 'busy-ness' of an area, but how many people are actually carrying shopping bags?

The ice-rink was a good idea, and should be repeated next year. I would suggest the town centre management and BID work towards achieving the following:

1. FREE PARKING. Will the penny ever drop? Even reintroducing free on-street 1 hour parking back to the Town Hall area will help.

2. RENTS - write to all landlords who own shops that have been empty for more than 6 months (via their agents if necessary) and ask them to consider dropping the asking rents. Do the research and make a case.

3. RATES- Consider if the Localism Act allows a reduction in business rates. If it does- then slash the business rates multiplier from about 0.45 to 0.2. for new business occupiers. At the same time DOUBLE the rates for landlords sitting on empty premises from 0.45 to 0.9 or 1.0. And then advertise it: "HALF PRICE BUSINESS RATES FOR 3 YEARS FOR ALL NEW BUSINESSES OPENED IN 2013 ".

4. Write to all the businesses that set up shop in Shaftesbury, Wimborne, Exeter, Winchester etc. but are not in Bournemouth/ Poole? Ask them why? See if they can be persuaded.

5. EVENTS. Consider aiming for at least 2 well managed events EVERY month of the year.

Consider;
Dorset Music Festival, a Jazz and Folk festival, a Go-Kart Grand-Prix race around town, a ‘Robot-Wars Championship in the Square’, an Archery tournament in the Lower Gardens, a Charity Rubber Duck Race in the Bourne Stream, a Dorset and Hampshire Arts and Crafts Exhibition (with FREE exhibition stall space set aside for legitimate local based crafts people to display wares), a ‘Wipe-Out’ style water and inflatable assault cause in the gardens over Summer, a Street/ Hip-Hop and Urban Culture event celebrating dance, music and art, a Wessex Region Food Festival, perhaps 4 big annual parades; a New Years Day Parade, a Gay Pride Parade/ event, a Summer Spectacular Parade, and a Christmas Santa Parade.

Parades should be a spectacle, having ideally at least 3 marching bands/ sound systems at the beginning, middle and end. Also consider getting the huge inflatables that you see in US parades, plus household name celebrities to sign autographs, and floats from big employers handing our freebies/ vouchers/ coupons. Alson consider the costumes... has anybody been to the Sambadrome in Rio for the carnival(?).. it is easily the best show on Earth. The energy, the music, the costumes, you cant help but be stunned by it all. THIS pzazz, and dazzling razzmatazz is what Bournemouth must aim for if it really wants to become Britains Best Resort.

Can I also suggest with the Christmas Parade, which was good last year, but could be much better to have; a dozen or more reindeer, a 'pre-Coke' Santa, (ie a multi-coloured traditional image of Father Christmas), three Kings carrying gifts, more choirs singing carols, perhaps ask local schools if they want to take part. They could be in costume as Elves or reindeer etc. Plus all the big retailers and BID should be involved, even handing out discount vouchers etc. Some local charities could join in with collection boxes.

The Christmas market and christmas lights needs huge improvement. Just see how Bath does it. There are some really excellent markets about, get organised now to make improvements for this coming Christmas.

Oh, and Poole traders... wakey wakey! Bournemouth has 2 BIDs, plus Wimborne has BID, so does Dorchester, and Winchester traders hae just voted to keep their BID. This is the ONLY way to raise enough revenue to make things happen! So get organised and make it happen!

...assault 'course'... not 'cause'... !

No comment or reply on the content of the post or just some snide spelling correcting?

The economy is in downturn, that is unavoidable.

However the town-centre is way ahead of this process, mainly due to lack of vision and very poor Council management. In simple terms it has become unpleasant, old-fashioned, expensive and boring.

After negotisating countless roads now long closed to traffic you might reach a car park where you will be charged a small fortune just be there. You then have to walk up and down the hills past many tatty boarded up stores upon a carpet of sticky discarded chewing gum whilst taking in the delightful odour of the last nights stale urine. Finally at Christmas you are geeted by a load of old sheds full of pricey tat that appear every Christmas for no apparant reason.

Tempted to go elsewhere, you bet we are!

muscliffman wrote:
The economy is in downturn, that is unavoidable. However the town-centre is way ahead of this process, mainly due to lack of vision and very poor Council management. In simple terms it has become unpleasant, old-fashioned, expensive and boring. After negotisating countless roads now long closed to traffic you might reach a car park where you will be charged a small fortune just be there. You then have to walk up and down the hills past many tatty boarded up stores upon a carpet of sticky discarded chewing gum whilst taking in the delightful odour of the last nights stale urine. Finally at Christmas you are geeted by a load of old sheds full of pricey tat that appear every Christmas for no apparant reason. Tempted to go elsewhere, you bet we are!

My thoughts as well, the sheds are not wanted I hardly saw much being purchased except for people with more money than sense.! Bournemouth will become a ghost town, together will all the closed down shops.

jeebuscripes wrote:

The Seasider wrote:

The Seasider wrote:
My thoughts are:

The BID is worth it, and will probably be the best thing to revive shopping areas. A statutory levy, money in the kitty and putting on events is the future.

Footfall figures may indicate 'busy-ness' of an area, but how many people are actually carrying shopping bags?

The ice-rink was a good idea, and should be repeated next year. I would suggest the town centre management and BID work towards achieving the following:

1. FREE PARKING. Will the penny ever drop? Even reintroducing free on-street 1 hour parking back to the Town Hall area will help.

2. RENTS - write to all landlords who own shops that have been empty for more than 6 months (via their agents if necessary) and ask them to consider dropping the asking rents. Do the research and make a case.

3. RATES- Consider if the Localism Act allows a reduction in business rates. If it does- then slash the business rates multiplier from about 0.45 to 0.2. for new business occupiers. At the same time DOUBLE the rates for landlords sitting on empty premises from 0.45 to 0.9 or 1.0. And then advertise it: "HALF PRICE BUSINESS RATES FOR 3 YEARS FOR ALL NEW BUSINESSES OPENED IN 2013 ".

4. Write to all the businesses that set up shop in Shaftesbury, Wimborne, Exeter, Winchester etc. but are not in Bournemouth/ Poole? Ask them why? See if they can be persuaded.

5. EVENTS. Consider aiming for at least 2 well managed events EVERY month of the year.

Consider;
Dorset Music Festival, a Jazz and Folk festival, a Go-Kart Grand-Prix race around town, a ‘Robot-Wars Championship in the Square’, an Archery tournament in the Lower Gardens, a Charity Rubber Duck Race in the Bourne Stream, a Dorset and Hampshire Arts and Crafts Exhibition (with FREE exhibition stall space set aside for legitimate local based crafts people to display wares), a ‘Wipe-Out’ style water and inflatable assault cause in the gardens over Summer, a Street/ Hip-Hop and Urban Culture event celebrating dance, music and art, a Wessex Region Food Festival, perhaps 4 big annual parades; a New Years Day Parade, a Gay Pride Parade/ event, a Summer Spectacular Parade, and a Christmas Santa Parade.

Parades should be a spectacle, having ideally at least 3 marching bands/ sound systems at the beginning, middle and end. Also consider getting the huge inflatables that you see in US parades, plus household name celebrities to sign autographs, and floats from big employers handing our freebies/ vouchers/ coupons. Alson consider the costumes... has anybody been to the Sambadrome in Rio for the carnival(?).. it is easily the best show on Earth. The energy, the music, the costumes, you cant help but be stunned by it all. THIS pzazz, and dazzling razzmatazz is what Bournemouth must aim for if it really wants to become Britains Best Resort.

Can I also suggest with the Christmas Parade, which was good last year, but could be much better to have; a dozen or more reindeer, a 'pre-Coke' Santa, (ie a multi-coloured traditional image of Father Christmas), three Kings carrying gifts, more choirs singing carols, perhaps ask local schools if they want to take part. They could be in costume as Elves or reindeer etc. Plus all the big retailers and BID should be involved, even handing out discount vouchers etc. Some local charities could join in with collection boxes.

The Christmas market and christmas lights needs huge improvement. Just see how Bath does it. There are some really excellent markets about, get organised now to make improvements for this coming Christmas.

Oh, and Poole traders... wakey wakey! Bournemouth has 2 BIDs, plus Wimborne has BID, so does Dorchester, and Winchester traders hae just voted to keep their BID. This is the ONLY way to raise enough revenue to make things happen! So get organised and make it happen!

...assault 'course'... not 'cause'... !

No comment or reply on the content of the post or just some snide spelling correcting?

Don't worry, its only me correcting myself before somebody else does.

Greed always overrules right thinking...

The idea of a christmas market etc if ok as long as it is done with taste and actually resembles a german christmas market. What S&D leisure put on is just utter crap! The stalls block the majority of the pavements, that hideous carousel has no place in a christmas market and the bar charges obscene amounts for poor quality drinks. BBC look to Bath and other great cities/towns that manage to put on a great Christmas market and make profit. While you are at it, improve the xmas lighting in the town, what we have appears to be reject lights from the 1980's. Bournemouth was absolutely rubbish this year for christmas shopping hence I only made the one visit and spent very little. We need to get all the old pensioner stiffs out of the council and get some fresh blood in to the council otherwise Bournemouth is destined to go the same way as many other blue rinse seaside resorts, devoid of tourists but full of retirement/nursing homes, the majority of whose residents are usually too frail or infirm to make use of the towns facilities.

Starved of unusual items in B'mth we shopped in the Vintage market in Boscombe, got some things in Pokesdown but then bought most of our presents in Totnes at their fantastic Christmas fair. It started late afternoon with stall holders setting up, mulled wine and lots of different types of food, loads of unusual hand made things for sale, fairy lights everywhere, carol singing in the streets and ended in a fantastic walk around various pubs, with live music in every one and a really delicious meal from locally sourced food. We saved all year for this and stayed overnight in a B & B but we felt like Christmas had begun and Totnes had a real spirit of Christmas in the whole town. Nothing was overpriced and we will definitely go again next year and so far 16 more friends want to join us so we are planning on hiring a small coach.
We've also heard that there is an even more beautiful Christmas fair somewhere near Manchester...but have not further details yet..
Shame about B'mth but then they don't listen to what people like or want so people decide with their feet...We think that more and more, people prefer to buy local, hand made or produced products and food, live music and are "hands off" from the big clothes and food chains especially at Christmas when you want to get something special ....but then perhaps we are wrong.....

Bournemouth could learn a lot of lessons from Winchester. Their Christmas market was phenomenally good, particularly the full sized ice rink. Bournemouth town centre looked a bit like a refugee camp with all of those sheds dotted all over the place. There is something beautiful architecture in Bournemouth and some potentially real assets yet there is never anyone talented enough to turn Bournemouth in to the special place it could be. In particular I note that the top of Commercial Road and Old Christchurch Road look very run down now with increasing amounts of empty shop units. Southampton got it spot on with West Quay. The project was a great example of a radical solution to a radical problem which is what is required in Bournemouth. The town could be an upmarket tourist resort/working town if the management of it were in the right hands.

There are hard decisions to be made but instead of wasting money projects like the IMAX why not compulsory purchase all of the slum housing in the worst parts of the town, restore it to a reasonable standard. Leave it under local authority control/ownership and it is then an investment for the town. Put hard working families in the properties and send all the addicts back up North from whence they came!

With a continuation of mediocre ill thought out initiatives we are only going to get mediocre results (at best). Our elected representatives need to pull their finger out and start making some strong informed plans for restoring Bournemouth to its former glory!!!

Are the council deaf or just plane daft, what do you expect with the car parking prices, get real you lot. Although I guess come the next election you will all be out telling us what you have done so you can get another term to screw the locals. Some chance I think the locals have got to know what you are all about.
Is your policy: we say you do?