In a comment left yesterday, Captain Pugwash posed some questions about the town centre.
This indicates that Rhuthun has already shrunk quite a bit. There's some evidence of this. The street with the highest proportion of "gaps" between shops is Clwyd Street and here you will find homes thinly disguising their former uses as shops.
This is a natural process. The ebb and flow, the waxing and waning of commercial town centres probably started in the middle ages when you would've found a large selection of taverns. Most have disappeared as tastes and habits change.
In the late 19th century, town trade began to expand and with it the size of the commercial centre itself. This expansion accelerated in the early part of the 20th century aided by motor transport. People could travel greater distance to benefit from town trade, reinforcing town centre growth. Increasing wealth, especially in an agriculturally fertile area such as this, further promoted a proliferation of trade that had established itself fully by the late 1950s, when most things remained local.
You also need to add Rhuthun's status as a pre-1974 county town, bringing with it disproportionate income associated with county, borough and rural district offices plus, of course, the assizes.
Post-1974, Rhuthun managed to hang on to much of its local wealth but there was a greater degree of boom and bust. The coming of Tesco Mark 1 (in the town centre) and later fringe-like KwikSave began to affect the town, albeit slowly. Things also changed as motor transport brought visitors in but increasingly sent locals out to shop & work elsewhere.
Then in the early 1990s came the modern world. It arrived in the shape of Lo-cost, now the Station Road Co-op. This was the original death knell of town centre convenience shopping. 15 years later, Tesco has done two things:
If Rhuthun follows national trends, it will see more housing (e.g. Glasdir) at the same time as the town centre itself shrinks still further. It may be sad, it may even be somewhat ironic but it's probably inevitable. Larger settlements have the ability to morph in different ways. There, towns can change from purely shopping streets to a mix of academic uses, student & office accommodation. None of this is possible in Rhuthun.
This somewhat limits future options for Rhuthun. A change from commercial to residential use remains the most likely. I am not aware that such a change needs formal planning permission, especially since it's already happening.
Such a shift will at least keep frontages in good order even if it leaves the impression of the town being slightly ghost-like. People living in the centre will be nothing other than good. But a lack of immediate car parking and town centre traffic might put people off.
In answer to the question the Cap'n poses, "Will the town be left as empty shops forever?" Expect fewer shops and more homes.
"Will the town be left as empty shops forever? Or would the Council permit planning for residential dwellings? I am not suggesting this is the right thing to do—but I can't help but feel some thought needs to be given to the issue to prevent Ruthin becoming an 'empty shop' town"Look around Rhuthun/Ruthin now and you'll see something unique: homes punctuating the street scene. Whereas, across the land town, centres are shrinking as commercial units fall out of use at the extremities, it's different in Rhuthun. For years, Rhuthun has mixed residencies with shops.
This indicates that Rhuthun has already shrunk quite a bit. There's some evidence of this. The street with the highest proportion of "gaps" between shops is Clwyd Street and here you will find homes thinly disguising their former uses as shops.
This is a natural process. The ebb and flow, the waxing and waning of commercial town centres probably started in the middle ages when you would've found a large selection of taverns. Most have disappeared as tastes and habits change.
In the late 19th century, town trade began to expand and with it the size of the commercial centre itself. This expansion accelerated in the early part of the 20th century aided by motor transport. People could travel greater distance to benefit from town trade, reinforcing town centre growth. Increasing wealth, especially in an agriculturally fertile area such as this, further promoted a proliferation of trade that had established itself fully by the late 1950s, when most things remained local.
You also need to add Rhuthun's status as a pre-1974 county town, bringing with it disproportionate income associated with county, borough and rural district offices plus, of course, the assizes.Post-1974, Rhuthun managed to hang on to much of its local wealth but there was a greater degree of boom and bust. The coming of Tesco Mark 1 (in the town centre) and later fringe-like KwikSave began to affect the town, albeit slowly. Things also changed as motor transport brought visitors in but increasingly sent locals out to shop & work elsewhere.
Then in the early 1990s came the modern world. It arrived in the shape of Lo-cost, now the Station Road Co-op. This was the original death knell of town centre convenience shopping. 15 years later, Tesco has done two things:
- It's reinforced the closure of remaining convenience businesses.
- It's taken people out of the town, reducing passing trade.
If Rhuthun follows national trends, it will see more housing (e.g. Glasdir) at the same time as the town centre itself shrinks still further. It may be sad, it may even be somewhat ironic but it's probably inevitable. Larger settlements have the ability to morph in different ways. There, towns can change from purely shopping streets to a mix of academic uses, student & office accommodation. None of this is possible in Rhuthun.
This somewhat limits future options for Rhuthun. A change from commercial to residential use remains the most likely. I am not aware that such a change needs formal planning permission, especially since it's already happening.Such a shift will at least keep frontages in good order even if it leaves the impression of the town being slightly ghost-like. People living in the centre will be nothing other than good. But a lack of immediate car parking and town centre traffic might put people off.
In answer to the question the Cap'n poses, "Will the town be left as empty shops forever?" Expect fewer shops and more homes.