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00:00For some people, the announcement that Power Stretcher is closing in Gosport is a further
00:04sign of the death of the High Street, particularly Gosport, or some have described it as a ghost
00:08town.
00:09I head into the High Street to get the local people's perspective.
00:13There are obviously a lot of vacant shops in the High Street, we've had a lot of comments
00:18about people saying it's a bit of a ghost town, what's your thoughts on Gosport High
00:21Street?
00:22I think it's what you make of it, there's stuff if you want to come here, there's plenty
00:25of nice little coffee shops, the library's very good, if we can get some grants to get
00:30some more interesting shops in that would be good, but everywhere's struggling, I don't
00:36think Gosport's any different anywhere else really.
00:39What I would like to see is the parking made easier, especially for pensioners like me,
00:45because you get an hour free, but you can't pay by cash or card, you have to use the app,
00:51which is fine for me, I can use it, but not everybody can, and I think it's shooting themselves
00:57in the foot a little bit.
00:58Quite good shops down here, worth supporting, there's the New Look, and the Leacocks, so
01:08I just think you've still got to support your High Street, I mean it's like any other High
01:13Street really, but I still think it's worth supporting.
01:16Hi, I'm James and this is Jonathan, from the Sweetshop, who's got the bag in Gosport
01:21High Street now?
01:22Yeah, who's got the bag, he's been there a year, he's been a rocky rollercoaster runner.
01:26It's been a rather pleasant promotion.
01:28What's your experience, certainly the footfall over the last year, has it gone down, has
01:33it fluctuated?
01:34For this time of year it's got a lot easier, but in the summer it was up and down, it was
01:39unpredictable, you couldn't predict your paydays or anything.
01:43One minute it was really good, the next minute it was down, but like I said, because we've
01:47got our online and we do local deliveries as well, that does seem to aid us in keeping
01:51a steady income, but I think next year will be our year.
02:00Market day is what's bringing people down the town, the market, when it comes down on
02:04the weekend, that's what drives footfall, so that's one positive.
02:08Yeah, big ups to Angus.
02:10Obviously with some of the bigger chains, lots of stores across the country are closing,
02:15obviously you see Pound Stretcher here, but some of the more traditional ones are closing
02:19everywhere.
02:20Do you think a return to some of those bigger stores in the High Street, that would increase
02:24footfall?
02:25No, personally I think it's the big ones need to go and let the small guys come back.
02:30We have niche products, and we have stuff that you can't find anywhere else.
02:35We get stuff from Japan, we get all of our drinks from America, so we have really created
02:40something that people come down and they get something that they can't get in their local
02:43supermarkets.
02:44And I think it's people like us.
02:46It would be a shame if this was a chain sweet shop.
02:50The bigger stores have got too much of the same stuff, Tesco, Asda, they're all selling
02:55the exact same sweets and candy, where we're selling unique products.
02:58Yeah, and for High Street I think it's got to be unique, like the beauty parlour just
03:02started doing our permanent jewellery, that's really unique.
03:04That's right, yeah.
03:05So everyone's got to be small and unique I think for High Street, not just...
03:09It's really sad the amount of empty shops, but I don't think we're unique, I think it's
03:14country-wide, and I'm really hoping that our new bus station, with then the waterfront
03:19being developed, will just maybe boost Gosport a little bit more, and realise that we're
03:24just not Portsmouth's poor neighbour.
03:26Right, okay, yeah, yeah, interesting.
03:28Is there anything you'd like to see introduced back into High Street, certain types of shops,
03:32or you think that would make a difference?
03:34I really don't know what shops would want to be associated with Gosport at the moment.
03:40I just think the whole facade needs to be jazzed up and made more welcoming.
03:46We're always in the dark as well because of the way the sun comes up in Gosport High Street,
03:52so it's almost really sad.
03:55But I think there needs to be more for youngsters to encourage them to come to the High Street
04:01to make it happier and more vibrant.
04:05So I think, not necessarily nightclubs, but maybe some soft play, indoor markets, just
04:13I don't know.
04:15Do you come into the High Street often yourself?
04:18Maybe once a week, just to use the library.
04:21The library's great.
04:22Okay, yeah, so the library brings you in.
04:24Okay, interesting.
04:25And I was speaking to a couple of small businesses as well, and they said that some of the small
04:28businesses are thriving.
04:29Is that something you'd like to see more of, rather than some of the bigger chains?
04:32Unique shops would be perfect, because I think that's what people like, is stuff that you
04:38can't buy elsewhere.
04:39So if we had more unique shops that sold own crafts and things like that would just be
04:47great for this town.