When Birmingham’s rat hotspots were revealed, leafy Acocks Green was among those that figured highly. Known as one of the city’s popular shopping suburbs, I headed out to see if the pests were as much of a problem as the figures suggest.
The south east city enclave near Tyseley was the eighth worst ward for rat complaints to Birmingham City Council since 2023 with 347 reports. Yet when I got there, what I found was far more worrying than rats that was giving many independent shop owners sleepless nights.
Walking along Acocks Green’s High Street on the A41, it still had plenty of people milling around, but the number of boarded up shop frontages and ‘To Let’ signs was striking. Every few steps was another store closure where well known High Street brands once stood, yet there were no rats in sight.
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The latest to leave was Boots last month, but that follows the closures of Dorothy Perkins, Wilko, Argos, Subway and various banks. Even some charity shops have upped sticks, according to unhappy traders.
Shopkeeper Ubaid Ur-Rehman, who owns AG Mobile Repairs and Vapes, blames major stores pulling out of Acocks Green and shoplifting issues for “killing off” this High Street. He moans that now barbers and gaming shops dominate the area.
“Acocks Green used to have a proper High Street, it was bustling with lots of traffic, full car parks and lots of people, but now it’s dead,” said Mr Ur-Rehman. “Argos left just after lockdown and it had a big impact, but Wilko’s and Boots have gone too. You need big stores to bring shoppers into the area.
“Before, there was a lot more browsing but now people only come to a certain shop and go again. I am surviving on my repeat customers. I had four or five times more customers when Argos was here. I’m 40% to 60% down on sales.
“The shoplifting doesn’t help and we have a real problem here. Boots had a security guard but there were still problems. Now they have gone. We need a couple of major stores to come back if we’ve any chance of turning things around.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses now use the entrance to the empty Wilko’s store in Warwick Road as a base. The building lies eerily empty as do many other landmarks nearby.
Iceland, Greggs, The Works, Savers and Costa Coffee remain as do Lloyds Bank and Natwest, giving some hope to traders.
Independent grocers Hughes Fruiterers has been going strong for decades and shop assistant Zibi Ullah said it is due to its loyal customers. There’s the fresh, sweet smell of mangoes and oranges in the beautifully traditional shop with original fittings and features.
To survive, the long-standing owner has expanded its range to sell specialist Caribbean and Asian produce alongside British favourites from yams to plantain and dragon fruit that locals can’t get in nearby Morrisons supermarket.
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It’s working as I see a constant stream of customers, many buying less readily available items. The service is super personal too with a couple asking for a box of specific mangoes that Zibi says he can get for them if they return tomorrow.
Zibi tells me: “Too many shops in this High Street are closing down all the time. I’ve worked here for three years and independent shops like this rely heavily on local support and regulars.
“Shoplifting now is terrible. Just yesterday, I saw a man steal something from Savers and the staff were chasing him down the street, but that’s not unusual.”
Acocks Green was the seventh worst Birmingham suburb for shoplifting outside the city centre, according to latest police.uk figures for 2023. There were 252 shoplifting crimes committed, behind the main suburb hotspots of Northfield, with 393, and Selly Oak, 367.
Nick, the owner of Just Bargains, has run his shop for nearly 30 years but is certain it won’t remain in another three decades. “It’s mainly food shops and barbers now but we need to have more of a variety,” says a disheartened Nick.
“It all started when the banks began pulling out, there’s only two left here now but that had a huge impact. It gave people a reason to come here and visit the shops at the same time.
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“Wilko’s going bust and then Argos leaving were terrible for this High Street. Argos pulled in a lot of shoppers, especially at Christmas time. We begged them not to go. It doesn’t make things any easier that people come in nicking things all the time.
“When I first opened up here, Acocks Green was ‘the village’. There was Woolworths, two butchers, a proper paper shop and lots of stores. Sadly, I think it’s too late to save this High Street now.”
A customer passing us agrees and vents his anger at the banks. “The worst things the banks ever did is closing branches on the High Street,” he shouts at me. Like many, I can tell this is an issue close to his heart.
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“They are destroying everything,” he adds. “People need to talk to each other over a counter. It’s totally wrong and has a knock-on effect on smaller shops. The banks only do it to make more profit, it’s just greed.”
For now, locals are still taking time to come to the independent stores they have grown up with but shopkeepers are wary that as each month passes, so do signs of struggles and another boarded up frontage.