Ashley Cross is one of the town’s busiest areas and over the last twenty years, the area has become increasingly popular at night for its restaurants, host bars, and pubs which attract people from miles around.
These photos from over 50 years show the changes to the area and changing usage of the buildings. In the 1970s Ashley Cross had a surprising number of garages and petrol stations for such a small area.
Popular shops from the era were Vinay’s of Parkstone the garden center on Commercial Road and neighbors Whittaker’s the car sales garage, these sites have now been demolished with retail stores, restaurants, and flats now standing on the site.
The look of the area has changed over the years with several of the old buildings having been demolished and redeveloped. As with this row of shops on Commercial Road opposite the green seen above all the buildings from the Westminster Garage to the left have been demolished.
These photos from the Grahame Austin Collection may bring back some memories of the shopping in the area at the time.
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