Comment: London Road is going one way ... downhill (From The Argus)

Comment: London Road is going one way ... downhill

11:56am Tuesday 2nd September 2008 in Comment and Analysis By Andy Whelan

Some shopkeepers say cars drive down London Road only when they are leaving the city - and don't want to stop

Once a thriving shopping area with an abundance of big-name retail stores, Brighton’s London Road has become better known for drug addicts and drunks.

Reporter Andy Whelan spoke to long-term residents and traders who chronicle the decline of the area.

London Road was once one of Brighton and Hove’s premier shopping areas, boasting a Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, WH Smiths and large Co-op.

But in recent years, many of the big-name retail stores have left and the area has become a run-down home for alcoholics and heroin users.

People living and working in the area say the road has “gone downhill” because of a number of reasons.

Some cite the the lack of investment in the area over the past 30 years, others believe it is the emergence of needle exchanges and rehab centres.

But everyone is united in believing the area has reached rock bottom and is a far cry from its glory days of former years.

Neil Underhill, owner of Principal Meats, has been a butcher in the street for more that 20 years and says the biggest problems are caused by facilities available to drug addicts.

He said: “There used to be a lot of smaller needle exchanges spread around Brighton and Hove but many have been closed down.

“It means the drug addicts flock to this area, where they can get clean needles and there are places round here they can get their methadone.

“When I first started working here it was very, very busy, full of chain stores and independent traders. It used to be a fun street where we had a laugh and joke with everyone.

“There were a couple of drunks but they were local characters rather than the drug addicts who would do anything for a fix.

“My wife and her friends don’t come down here because she feels intimidated by these people.

“The demographic of the customer is changing.

“We used to see a lot of older customers but now pensioners are too intimidated to shop round here.

“I know of so many people who have had their purses stolen in the street.”

Mary Cragg, joint owner of Patricia Florist, has worked in the area for 25 years and accredits its downfall to the one-way system.

She said: “Traffic used to flow past Preston Park towards Brighton through Preston Road or Beaconsfield Road and both routes took you through London Road.

“But now cars only drive down London Road when they are leaving the city because it is one-way – and who wants to shop when they are heading out of town? Also, people used to stop outside my shop and run in for some flowers but parking here is horrendous and if you stop in a loading bay risk putting get a ticket.

“This area was once such a happy thoroughfare and we didn’t have to worry about people accosting you or shouting abuse.

“A couple of weeks ago we put a new beautiful ficus plant outside the shop which sells at £100 but at the end of the day it was gone.

“Every day I see large groups sprawled out, drinking and intimidating people because nobody wants to walk past them.”

Argus columnist and longterm Brighton resident Adam Trimingham believes the rot began when Marks and Spencer closed its shop in the 1980s.

He said: “When I first moved to Brighton in the Sixties, London Road was a rival to Western Road.

“It had a Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Co-op, which was just about the biggest department store in Brighton and Hove.

“It was never a prosperous area, mainly because the roads around it were always a little bit shabby, but I think life then generally was a bit shabbier and people didn’t notice it so much.

“It was lively and friendly and people from north Brighton would always shop there because they didn’t have to go all the way into town.

“I used to prefer going to London Road than Western Road because there was a pleasant atmosphere and I found it friendlier.

“But the decline came about 20 years ago when Marks and Spencer closed and Woolworths diminished in size from two floors to one.

“The land that is now the New England Quarter and is being built on was derelict for about 30 years.

“While great big grandiose schemes were being considered for its future, the fact that it remained untouched for so long brought the area down.

“It is very sad to see London Road as it is today but personally I think it is ripe for revival, and current plans, with a Tesco being built, give some hope.

“St James’s Street had a tremendous problem with drink and drugs, much worse than London Road.

“But a few people came forward to invest and it has been turned around. It gives hope for the future of London Road.”