Rotherham's high street is dying — and out-of-town retail parks are the culprit
'It's just vape, nail, charity shops': Can anything save UK high street?
Rotherham's town centre tells a national story: nearly a quarter of its shops stand empty, footfall has collapsed, and locals blame crime, parking costs, and the pull of nearby retail parks like Parkgate. The Guardian visits the town to ask whether anything can revive the British high street, finding a mix of nostalgia, resignation, and a few stubborn survivors.
If you build a wonderful, shiny, exciting new shopping mall or retail park, it doesn't create a lot of new shoppers. They just stop going somewhere else.