Topic ID 4528
friends of ours who were visiting Hertford and what is has to offer for the very first time were surprised by what they found when shopping in the town. They thought for the most part Hertford had a nice mix of independent shops, coffee bars, eateries etc. That was until they crossed the divide.....and went down Maindenhead Street! what a tip they exclaimed. a grim 'market' selling chinese batteries by the thousand, a stall selling out of date sweets, a chav clothes stall and a few grim shops. They suggested some sort of Berlin wall to seperate the grim end of Hertford and it's clientele from the nicer 'upmarket' side. They may have been joking but there's many a true word said in jest.
Reply ID 64673
I would suggest your friends find somewhere else to go
Reply ID 64674
What did they think of the Old Woolworths Shop
Reply ID 64675
quote:I agree, the least attractive side of Hertford in terms of shopping/retailers is Maidenhead street withought doubt. The empty Macdonalds building and Woolies current set-up are an eyesore to say the least. [V]
Originally posted by wingcomm
friends of ours who were visiting Hertford and what is has to offer for the very first time were surprised by what they found when shopping in the town. They thought for the most part Hertford had a nice mix of independent shops, coffee bars, eateries etc. That was until they crossed the divide.....and went down Maindenhead Street! what a tip they exclaimed. a grim 'market' selling chinese batteries by the thousand, a stall selling out of date sweets, a chav clothes stall and a few grim shops. They suggested some sort of Berlin wall to seperate the grim end of Hertford and it's clientele from the nicer 'upmarket' side. They may have been joking but there's many a true word said in jest.
Reply ID 64677
quote:They're allowed their opinion as much as anyone else. And they're right, in my opinion, too!
Originally posted by throwback
I would suggest your friends find somewhere else to go
Reply ID 64678
With all due respect not everyone goes into the town to eat or buy expensive trinkets. Were your friends suggesting that the town should only cater for 'nicer' people? How about people who want to go into the town for everyday essentials, at reasonable prices, without eating out? IMHO all the eateries have only served to reduce the number of shops we have, to be honest I am amazed that a town a small as our can support them all! When I was a child there was much more diverse range of everyday shops here and personally I feel Hertford was much better for it. There is no denying that Maidenhead Street does not look it's best at the moment, but I think that this is also the case with many High Streets given the current economic conditions. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions but I do feel that the whole "grim end and it's Clientele" was a completely unnecessary comment that only goes to fuel snobbery of the worst sort.
Reply ID 64679
Indeed they could go somewhere else. But I want Hertford to be a nice town with inhabitants and stores that care about the place. If you need an example of town where this doesn't happen think Stevenage!
quote:
Originally posted by throwback
I would suggest your friends find somewhere else to go
Reply ID 64682
Expensive Trinkets? I'm not sure any store in town sells expensive trinkets. also when i go into town i'm not always loking to 'eat out' or have coffee. it's just you get a feeling for a town by how it looks, recession or no recession. your comment about 'the worst kind of snobbery' made me laugh. too often our traditions, towns, regions and even ways of life are not protected due to people thinking it would be snobbish to do so. and look what happens... just as an aside, Snob is one of those words that actually has ended mean the opposite of what is what intended to mean.
quote:
Originally posted by gemipicorn
With all due respect not everyone goes into the town to eat or buy expensive trinkets. Were your friends suggesting that the town should only cater for 'nicer' people? How about people who want to go into the town for everyday essentials, at reasonable prices, without eating out? IMHO all the eateries have only served to reduce the number of shops we have, to be honest I am amazed that a town a small as our can support them all! When I was a child there was much more diverse range of everyday shops here and personally I feel Hertford was much better for it. There is no denying that Maidenhead Street does not look it's best at the moment, but I think that this is also the case with many High Streets given the current economic conditions. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions but I do feel that the whole "grim end and it's Clientele" was a completely unnecessary comment that only goes to fuel snobbery of the worst sort.
Reply ID 64690
quote:Ahh, I must have misunderstood. As a traditionalist myself you would have thought I'd have realised, but I thought the "They suggested some sort of Berlin wall to separate the grim end of Hertford and it's clientele from the nicer 'upmarket' side." comment was meant to be derisive. My apologies. I am not denying that the town is in desperate need of improvement, I am just an advocate of diversity that caters for all 'Clientele'
Originally posted by wingcomm
your comment about 'the worst kind of snobbery' made me laugh. too often our traditions, towns, regions and even ways of life are not protected due to people thinking it would be snobbish to do so. and look what happens...
Reply ID 64696
I think this is a fair assessment of our town. I think parts are lovely and others dirty, run-down and the litter.. my goodness don't get me started on Subway wrappers 1 metre from litter bins and all over the pavements around Old Cross! I think Maidenhead Street since MacDonalds went has looked grim as the shop fronts are not "oldy worldy" but flat, modern and a bit bland. Its not been helped by Woolworths going and also the shop next to the Cornish Pasty place that used to cash cheques. It desperately needs new retail outlets in it, but they are quite big and possibly too big for fledging businesses to really afford. Perhaps the Macmullen's of the town and others who "own" it could pull their fingers out and meet with the Chamber of Commerce and try and encourage more medium-sized businesses into the town..
Reply ID 64700
quote:what are Chav clothes?
Originally posted by wingcomm
a chav clothes stall and a few grim shops.
Reply ID 64703
gemipicorn, let's not fight [:D] this 'diversity' of which you speak? forgive me for being dim, but i can't recall any town in Britain where it has actually improved matters. I will stand corrected if you can name one. I would guess though that your idea and my idea of 'improved' may be different. anyway, back to the subject of Maidenhead street. i would suggest that for a lot of people there is already a virtual wall going up due the fact that for most of hertford's inhabitants there is nothing in the pedestrianised area of maidenhead street for them and they simply don't go there.
quote:
Originally posted by gemipicornquote:Ahh, I must have misunderstood. As a traditionalist myself you would have thought I'd have realised, but I thought the "They suggested some sort of Berlin wall to separate the grim end of Hertford and it's clientele from the nicer 'upmarket' side." comment was meant to be derisive. My apologies. I am not denying that the town is in desperate need of improvement, I am just an advocate of diversity that caters for all 'Clientele'
Originally posted by wingcomm
your comment about 'the worst kind of snobbery' made me laugh. too often our traditions, towns, regions and even ways of life are not protected due to people thinking it would be snobbish to do so. and look what happens...
Reply ID 64706
quote:I agree. Stand back and take an objective view of Maidenhead Street and, as much as I love Hertford, I can honestly say that for the most part it looks cheap, tacky and run down. And the market stalls that set up down there don't enhance it either.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I think this is a fair assessment of our town. I think parts are lovely and others dirty, run-down and the litter.. my goodness don't get me started on Subway wrappers 1 metre from litter bins and all over the pavements around Old Cross! I think Maidenhead Street since MacDonalds went has looked grim as the shop fronts are not "oldy worldy" but flat, modern and a bit bland. Its not been helped by Woolworths going and also the shop next to the Cornish Pasty place that used to cash cheques. It desperately needs new retail outlets in it, but they are quite big and possibly too big for fledging businesses to really afford. Perhaps the Macmullen's of the town and others who "own" it could pull their fingers out and meet with the Chamber of Commerce and try and encourage more medium-sized businesses into the town..
Reply ID 64707
quote:So did your friends think it would be more appealing without the market in Maidenhead Street, and I would also like to know what are Chav clothes and where do your friends live?
[i]Originally posted by wingcomm: a grim 'market' selling chinese batteries by the thousand, a stall selling out of date sweets, a chav clothes stall and a few grim shops.
Reply ID 64709
I love my town, but there are bits that I could slap around a bit and give new frontage to! Be realistic, its not as attractive as say the shop fronts of Marmalade, Dolly and Farrow and Farrow! The stalls of the market that set up in Maidenhead street are a bit tacky.. but people buy stuff from there so there's a market. I also feel that people forget that our town has people with different means, lifestyles and incomes and we're not all landed gentry! The town needs to cater for all its sectors, but an effort by those that can to attract shops to Maidenheads' empty retail sites, lick of paint and for heavens sake get the old Macdonalds green boards off and put something nice in there and we're going to feel a lot better!!!
Reply ID 64710
If you want a nice non chav fancy market stall, why not set 1 up yourself. Or better still take on 1 of the empty shops and spend a fortune on it so it's not an eye sore. The reason you have what you have in Maidenhead street is because that's what sells and makes profit
Reply ID 64712
Maidenhead looks a mess – regardless of what shops are there. It's not about having shop type X for group Z – the place, regardless of what group we think it targets, is at best a mediocre shopping experience (and for me not even “mediocre”). Fill it with any sort of shop you want but get them to clean up the shop windows, the litter and the empty buildings. I don’t care who goes down there just make it nicer than its current state. Surely, regardless of what newspaper you read (or whatever socio-economic ruler you use to measure people/yourself on) this is something we can agree on?
Reply ID 64713
quote:Indeed let's not. It would seem that we must agree to disagree, I fail to see how having a range of shops / retail outlets / market stalls that cater for a wide variety of people's needs and budgets would not improve an area. I do not use the market much myself however I would not stop it being there, there has always been a market full of stalls, many of which sold a cheaper range of items. Surley that qualifies as tradition. Once again I don't disagree that the town could do with a great deal of improvement, but to label things as "chavy" and "grim" and make assumptions about the people who use what is there, doesn't help matters IMHO. Just a thought, I should think that the Woodstore would be very pleased to hear that they make up part of the 'chavy' part of the market, and the owners of shops such as Ashleys are 'grim'. Right, I shall shut up now [:D]
Originally posted by wingcomm
gemipicorn, let's not fight [:D] this 'diversity' of which you speak? forgive me for being dim, but i can't recall any town in Britain where it has actually improved matters. I will stand corrected if you can name one. I would guess though that your idea and my idea of 'improved' may be different. anyway, back to the subject of Maidenhead street. i would suggest that for a lot of people there is already a virtual wall going up due the fact that for most of hertford's inhabitants there is nothing in the pedestrianised area of maidenhead street for them and they simply don't go there. [quote]
Reply ID 64715
I feel that Hertford Town Council need to do something to promote the area. I can' recall anything that they have done to that end. and even though it's getting off the point, i'd view chav clothes as the head to toe cheap looking(although usually branded) sport gear. quite often worn by people who haven't done any sport in a very long time [;)]
quote:
Originally posted by Dell Boyquote:So did your friends think it would be more appealing without the market in Maidenhead Street, and I would also like to know what are Chav clothes and where do your friends live?
[i]Originally posted by wingcomm: a grim 'market' selling chinese batteries by the thousand, a stall selling out of date sweets, a chav clothes stall and a few grim shops.
Reply ID 64716
quote:Couldn't agree more DQ! You put it so much better than me! Oops sorry, I said I would shut up didn't I [:I]
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I love my town, but there are bits that I could slap around a bit and give new frontage to! Be realistic, its not as attractive as say the shop fronts of Marmalade, Dolly and Farrow and Farrow! The stalls of the market that set up in Maidenhead street are a bit tacky.. but people buy stuff from there so there's a market. I also feel that people forget that our town has people with different means, lifestyles and incomes and we're not all landed gentry! The town needs to cater for all its sectors, but an effort by those that can to attract shops to Maidenheads' empty retail sites, lick of paint and for heavens sake get the old Macdonalds green boards off and put something nice in there and we're going to feel a lot better!!!
Reply ID 64717
quote:Spot on! I would gladly help brick up either end and be done with it. Always try to avoid taking any guests that way, tis embarrassing! [xx(]
Originally posted by wingcomm
Maindenhead Street! what a tip
Reply ID 64718
well we are all agreed that it could do with improving and if indeed it is owned by McMullen then they need to manage it properly/knock it down or try to bring in new independents by charging a sensible rent. I've seen the rent that is required for the old Woolwich offices and i nearly fell over. that's my last thoughts on the subject.... unless i think of something else...[^]
quote:
Originally posted by Avarice
Maidenhead looks a mess – regardless of what shops are there. It's not about having shop type X for group Z – the place, regardless of what group we think it targets, is at best a mediocre shopping experience (and for me not even “mediocre”). Fill it with any sort of shop you want but get them to clean up the shop windows, the litter and the empty buildings. I don’t care who goes down there just make it nicer than its current state. Surely, regardless of what newspaper you read (or whatever socio-economic ruler you use to measure people/yourself on) this is something we can agree on?
Reply ID 64721
Its a great shame it has gone down hill so much, it started when they built "Bircherley Green Shpping Centre" before that we had Boots, Fine Fare, International, a great fruit and Veg shop, good shoe shops, a thriving Woolworths, a Co-Operative , Scotch Wool, Gravesons at the end etc etc at that time it was THE shopping street, as the others have said it is not the only town to suffer this way, it is what comes of building "out of town" centres and the old style shopping street tent to go down hill with empty units and outlets , how shall I put this, catering for the less expensive end of the market. There was a time you could choose from about 6 or more Shoe Shops but would struggle to buy a cup of coffee, how things change!
Reply ID 64724
quote:So you are branding every 1 who wears sports gear branded clothes a chav that has not done sport in a very long time? That's ok then because I purchase my clothes from Coles menswear in Maidenhead Street, Hertford, but I do wear a sports top and trousers when I play tennis down at the Hertford lawn Tennis Club so I won't consider my-self a Chav, thank heavens for that. [:p]
[i]Originally posted by wingcomm: i'd view chav clothes as the head to toe cheap looking(although usually branded) sport gear. quite often worn by people who haven't done any sport in a very long time
Reply ID 64725
We can all sit on the fence and say how bad something is but instead of writing negative comments how about something positive? Any suggestions of how to improve the street? Maybe someone from the local authority might view this page and think, not a bad idea. I would like to see a canopy erected over Maidenhead street and make it an enclosed shopping mall. Change the dark brown paving stones to a lighter colour version. Install better lighting throughout, and keep the market. stalls like the woodshop and the lady who sells kids toys are excellent.
Reply ID 64729
The Mercury would have made this front page headlines if it not had been for the shooting in Sele Farm at the weekend, this subject is becoming quite popular. I remember the debate about 'nothing for teenagers in Hertford' thread and the mercury made it headlines that was a couple a of years ago. So if we keep the thread on here going maybe the mercury will make a story of it and use the headline something like this. Chav shopping street of Hertford.. and pictures of the Market stall holder on the corner of Maidenhead Street holding up some of his tatty garments. (you never know?)
Reply ID 64730
I like the idea of changing the colour of the paving, but for now just a lick of paint to the empty shops would improve matters and be more inviting to potential new clients.
Reply ID 64733
A lick of paint, sensible rents etc would possibly help. Thankfully knocking it down is not an option, it is only the shop fronts/ enviroment that need help, a lot of the buildings themselves have stood for hundreds of years! There was a time when cars were allowed down legally and had to park one side of the street on certain days and the other side of the street on the other days so that all the shops got their fair share of passing trade, at that time the market had its own custom built area undercover where Barclays now is! That was a "proper market!"
Reply ID 64734
I saw in the Mercury on Friday last week (3 July) that the boarded up shops in Ware had boards beautifully decorated in flowers and other nice bright artistic patterns. I am no artist (not of the painting kind anyway!) but if the drab wood on old Macdonalds and empty shop windows were boarded up how much nicer in nice patterned and bright boards.. It stops vandals breaking the glass and just lifts the spirits a bit. Its not the solution but it might just make things slightly more attractive....
Reply ID 64735
quote:Seconded. Empty shops attract negative attention regardless of geography.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I saw in the Mercury on Friday last week (3 July) that the boarded up shops in Ware had boards beautifully decorated in flowers and other nice bright artistic patterns. [...] Its not the solution but it might just make things slightly more attractive....
Reply ID 64737
quote:They're already going to do this. There was something about it in The Mercury. The Town Council and Courtyard Arts are involved.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I saw in the Mercury on Friday last week (3 July) that the boarded up shops in Ware had boards beautifully decorated in flowers and other nice bright artistic patterns. I am no artist (not of the painting kind anyway!) but if the drab wood on old Macdonalds and empty shop windows were boarded up how much nicer in nice patterned and bright boards.. It stops vandals breaking the glass and just lifts the spirits a bit. Its not the solution but it might just make things slightly more attractive....
Reply ID 64749
Mr Steve thank you for this, I just thought it was for Ware.. Jolly good on Hertford Town Council.. thank you for this information [:D]
Reply ID 64778
Thank God someone agrees with me. Maidenhead street makes the Tower Centre in Hoddesdon look like the Royal Exchange. It's appalling. The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday and that is the day the town is at it's grottiest worst. Manky Market stalls overflowing cheap tat all over the place. The council should sort this mess out before the whole town disappears under a quagmire of tartan dog cushions and other such dross.
Reply ID 64794
Aubend, you speak the truth. I've been to St Albans (or Snorbins as the posh locals call it) on saturday and although there market has some tat stalls there are a fair amount of quality stalls. it would be great if we could encourage a proper market rather than the ramshackle affair we have at the moment. Making the farmer's market a weekly event would be a start.
quote:
Originally posted by aubend
Thank God someone agrees with me. Maidenhead street makes the Tower Centre in Hoddesdon look like the Royal Exchange. It's appalling. The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday and that is the day the town is at it's grottiest worst. Manky Market stalls overflowing cheap tat all over the place. The council should sort this mess out before the whole town disappears under a quagmire of tartan dog cushions and other such dross.
Reply ID 64796
quote:My husband with the full time job who is not around on Saturdays will be interested to find he has neither money nor respectable employment.
Originally posted by aubend
The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday and that is the day the town is at it's grottiest worst.
Reply ID 64799
quote:http://www.hertford.net/blog/#empty_shop_art_scheme
Originally posted by Drama Queen
Mr Steve thank you for this, I just thought it was for Ware.. Jolly good on Hertford Town Council.. thank you for this information [:D]
Reply ID 64867
quote:?
Originally posted by Jo Squote:My husband with the full time job who is not around on Saturdays will be interested to find he has neither money nor respectable employment.
Originally posted by aubend
The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday and that is the day the town is at it's grottiest worst.
Reply ID 64876
quote:??? indeed, what the hell is Jo S on about?
Originally posted by aubendquote:?
Originally posted by Jo Squote:My husband with the full time job who is not around on Saturdays will be interested to find he has neither money nor respectable employment.
Originally posted by aubend
The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday and that is the day the town is at it's grottiest worst.
Reply ID 64884
Jo S refers to Aubends comment -- The one day of the week that people with money (eg those that work) come to Hertford is on a Saturday ---- This is not true many of us with jobs (and a little money!) work on Saturdays and it is another comment that does not come over well on a forum when you can see how it is said!