Lockdown is lifted but King Street in South Shields is hit by closures as shoppers predict 'bleak' future

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Retail outlets and hairdressers could finally reopen to the public this week, after Number 10 ordered them to shut for a month.

But, in what should have been a day to celebrate re-openings, many shoppers were left despondent over the continuing decline of King Street, which has been hit by further closures - as stores including Bonmarche, Peacocks and the YMCA shop displayed ‘closing down’ notices, while other outlets had not yet reopened.

The Gazette spoke to shoppers, who predicted a ‘bleak’ future as the country struggles to emerge from this year’s second national lockdown.

Retail outlets and hairdressers could finally reopen their doors to the public this week, but several South Shields shops were displaying closing down signs.

“There’s no atmosphere here now, is there?” said shopper James Boyle.

"I think it was on the cards that shops like YMCA would close. It’s like there’s no variation whatsoever in the shops we have here now.”

His partner, Sybill Boyle, said: "It really is depressing when you compare how the place used to be compared with what it’s like now.

"You couldn’t get moved with all the people walking decades ago. It was absolutely heaving then – now it just seems dead.”

End of national lockdown on King Street, South Shields as the North East enters tier 3 restrictions.

Other business owners in the town, like Stephen Sullivan, who runs the nearby Ziggy’s Bar, were out to support the reopening local firms.

"You walk down King Street and you see all the empty shop units that are there,” he said.

"I think it’s going to look very bleak coming out of this. This is a time to think about what a high street is for now.

"My personal opinion is it should be things to do with experiences. We’re a seaside town, we’re a destination town – we need to give people a reason to come here. We’re seeing that people won’t come to shop – they’ll just purchase online or go to Newcastle or Sunderland instead.”

End of national lockdown on King Street, South Shields as the North East enters tier 3 restrictions. Northern Threads Phil Goodfellow.

Derrick Richardson, who works at the Fresh ‘n’ Fruity greengrocer, which was not forced to close during November’s lockdown, believes the pandemic has accelerated longer-running trends for struggling high street firms in the area.

He said: "Not much has changed really [over the past few weeks].

“We and a few others are hanging in there still on this stretch of King Street. But if you look beyond there [the bridge], what other independent shops are there on this street?”

While some businesses remained closed, Phil Goodfellow’s clothes shop, Northern Threads, began to trade again following the month-long hiatus.

"It’s been a long year – it's been a tough year. But it’s a big positive to be open again and to begin to return to some kind of normality,” Mr Goodfellow told The Gazette.

"I don’t know if it’s going to save everybody, these three weeks. The turnout’s not as high as I’d expected it to be today, since a lot more people are at work after this lockdown than they were after the first, children are at school etc.

"I think the weekend’s going to be a real sign of where things are going, to be honest.”

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