The decline of the local High Street has changed the landscape of the country. Tens of thousands of independent traders and even big name chains have left our towns and cities as our shopping habits change.
Around six miles from Birmingham city centre is Weoley Castle Square, the area’s main shopping hub. We’re not here for a geometry lesson, but the first thing to note is, it’s not actually a square.
The circular parade with busy traffic island in the middle is bustling with people darting in and out of an array of businesses which include butchers, solicitors, off-licenses, nail bars, chemists, newsagents, a cobblers, amusement arcade, a florist, cafes, bookies, fast food joints, opticians, hairdressers and barbers.
There’s Weoley Castle Library at one end and several churches. But the thing that stood out to me on a Wednesday afternoon, apart from a Greggs, Herons and the odd chain, all the other premises are independently owned with a loving, loyal customer base.
Like other parts of the city, there are concerns around footfall, parking and anti-social behaviour but it’s also buzzing. Staff know their customers who have been coming for decades.
Ian Gibson, owner of I.J. Gibson Family Butchers tells me: “The customers are excellent, I’ve never had any bother in the shop. I know all the parents, they are regulars and loyal.
“We’ve got customers from Harborne and Solihull. People travel to us for quality and the chat. It’s like free therapy for some people, we hear everybody’s problems.
“There used to be seven independent butchers on the square, now there’s two. Kids don’t gather here, they used to years ago but they don’t now.”
Bus services 46,46A, 76 and the X21 drop passengers off in the square which is actually oval shaped with a grassed centre. Ian’s colleague Stef Thomas tells me: “Everybody asks about it being a square.
“It’s got four points leading off the circle making it a square.” This is something, locals like to point out.
A few steps away from the butcher’s is the Sense charity chop. Worker Glenys Ashton said the market and bank closing has left her worried. But she said: “We are surviving. People don’t come on this side so much but they do on the other side.
“We could be here for more than an hour without a customer. We need something in Weoley Castle to draw people into the area. About five years ago, we had 300-400 people come in a day, now we get 30-40 people a day.”
Across the ‘other side’, Louise Lelean, manages the Vegetable Garden, where you can buy the freshest fruits and veg in old style brown paper bags. She said: “I’ve ran shops in Harborne, Stourbridge but this is the best community. I’ve never had any trouble.
“If one of the regulars dies, everyone will come in and get together. They care about each other and we always get our day regulars.
“You don’t get a lot of Poundlands etc because the independents are doing well enough to keep it going. Only a handful of units are empty but I say come use us, don’t lose us because we care.”
Her co-worker Emma said: “When I say ‘Weoley Castle’, everyone says ‘hmm’ but I’ve lived here for 40 years and never had an issue.
“People are chatty. My kids say ‘don’t go down the square with mom because she will be gone for two hours chatting!”
Janet Brunt, 80 and her daughter Amanda Brunt, 57, who live ’round the corner’ said: “We’ve lived her for 50 years and we shop here most days. Everybody seems to know each other and they do things like a fete on the grass.”
Yvonne Williams runs Smash ‘N’ Grab, which her colleague calls ‘a cross between Wilkos and Poundland.’ “This is the heart of the community, we get lots of people coming in,” Yvonne said.
“There’s a good spirit, people around here are helpful and look out for each other.” Like so many other stores on the square, Smash ‘N’ Grab is immaculately kept and inviting with neat rows of precisely placed stock.
“One lady comes from Stratford because she likes our shop,” adds Yvonne. “We take pride here. Independents still rule round here and it’s because you get a more personal touch and assistance.”
As Nicky Moy serves food from her bustling cafe Castle Snax, she notices a regular outside – an older gentleman with his wife who has a health condition. After checking they are OK, she tells me: “I’ve been here for 20 years and it’s a brilliant community.
“When a former worker died around five years ago, the community raised £7,000 for her funeral. We don’t get any problems. You do get your odd shoplifter or drunk that I’ve had to move on but other than that, it’s a great place.”
Outside Smash ‘N’ Grab and flowering plants of the Vegetable Garden is a postbox decorated with drawings and the words ‘I Love You’ in different languages.
Giorgia Smith, originally from Liverpool, decided Weoley Castle was the spot to open her new business ‘Little Tinkers’- a sensory soft play centre for the under-fours.
She said: “From the day I moved in, I had other businesses asking if they could help. It’s a nice community.
“The police are here quite often and you do get the ‘odd’ person but it’s lovely. The big soft plays are hard for little kids so they have a manageable little section here.”
Shaq Awan is manager of Weoley Castle Mini Market which is open from 8am to 8pm. He said: “It’s actually not bad around here, it’s OK. The area is busy until 3pm and then it goes quiet.
Mr Awan admits he has told off kids who have been gathering outside in the past. He added: “It needs something more in the centre for the kids, something more fun.”