Shared description
Town centres in 2008-2026
Town centres in the UK are constantly evolving, many shops come and go and many well known names are disappearing from the High Street altogether. These images, I hope, will act as a historic record of how tough times have been and who came and went and who thrived.
I first started recording the images to reflect the impact of the post Brexit vote (June 2016) and then with images that may also have shown the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which started to be visible in town centre trading from about June 2020 onwards. In the early months of the pandemic businesses were forced to close during the government 'lockdown' which was announced 23 March 2020 and came into effect on 26 March 2020. Not all subsequently reopened.
Post Covid the recovery has been slow and patchy. The impact of online shopping continues to have a further impact on shopping habits and the ability for physical shops to survive in many town centres. Then one has to factor in rents and changes in government.
At the end of the day I just think this is a great way to demonstrate the value of Geograph over time. Enjoy and explore your own town.
I first started recording the images to reflect the impact of the post Brexit vote (June 2016) and then with images that may also have shown the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which started to be visible in town centre trading from about June 2020 onwards. In the early months of the pandemic businesses were forced to close during the government 'lockdown' which was announced 23 March 2020 and came into effect on 26 March 2020. Not all subsequently reopened.
Post Covid the recovery has been slow and patchy. The impact of online shopping continues to have a further impact on shopping habits and the ability for physical shops to survive in many town centres. Then one has to factor in rents and changes in government.
At the end of the day I just think this is a great way to demonstrate the value of Geograph over time. Enjoy and explore your own town.
by Mr Ignavy
Created: Sun, 3 Mar 2013, Updated: Thu, 25 Dec 2025
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