Some of the empty property in Ipswich Town Centre - a former cake shop
Gallery: What should be done with Ipswich’s empty buildings?
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
6:00 PM
FROM former pubs to redundant offices, vacant shops to forgotten cafes - Ipswich has countless empty buildings sitting boarded up awaiting investment.
Among the more notorious are the former Odeon cinema at Major’s Corner and the County of Suffolk pub in St Helen’s Street.
There has been much debate over the future use of some of these buildings, including the cinema which many would like to see reopened rather than having a new Vue built in the Buttermarket. What would you like to see happen to some of these empty buildings? Do you have a winning business idea for a specific unit? How many of them do you remember from when they were thriving businesses? Share you memories by logging on and leaving a comment below. Or if you have photos of how some of these shops looked in days gone by, send them to us at suffolk.iwitness24.co.uk.
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10 comments
I agree that business rates are probably high but charity shops and pound shops seem to be able to afford it. I think the most likely culprit contributing to high street shops is online shopping which we all use!
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CheZee Bell3nd
Thursday, December 13, 2012
What puts people off are the costs involved as everyone has said, when you are likley to have to spend thousands renting and paying rates, the only business that can do this is fast selling big business, hence there afre very few different shops in Ipswich, Norwic has some lovely little shops with much more diversity. would it not be better to have an income from the space rather than nothing, greed unfortunatley takes over as usual
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A Rust
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Business rates are set by Central Government, the only think local councils can do is give businesses a break from payment. Rents are set by landlords who in most instances are private. I love people's logic - there are empty shops thus the town is a cesspit. By that equation every town in the country is a cesspit then. There are beggers and homeless thus the town is a cesspit. Again that means every town and city in the country must a cesspit then, cos the last i noticed homeless and street drinkers weren't exclusive to Ipswich. It's always one rule for Ipswich and one rule for everywhere else it seems!
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Scott Brock
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Two things - 1. Business rates 2. Rent. If these are too high then businesses will never be able to compete against online shopping.
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Citizen
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
ipswich is just like most town empty shops no money, i think they should be made into work shops for people out of work with free coffee and tea
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Lee mundy
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Ipswich is such a sad place these days, I can remember in the 60's when the shop next door to the one above was the 'Fanny Clothing Co.', I used to get so excited as a little girl knowing I was going 'into town', so many interesting shops back then, but not now! :(
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Mrs.Yetti-Goose-Creature
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I always wonder when I see an empty shop "what business would I open if I could" I think the council and the government should encourage new business owners by helping with finance, rent on unit free for a few months etc etc. To encourage new business to pop up. For the record.......I would open a pic an mix shop, like a Woolworths type!
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Cat
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
well get the greedy council to drop business rates or even do like scotland do and get rid all together there would be no empty shops as businesses would be able to aford to run just saying
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cant believe it
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
My wife went late night shopping a week or so ago, and every unused shop doorway had yet another drunk or high beggar in it asking for money. She said it was unsettling and at times, intimidating. Ipswich really has gone downhill so badly i doubt it will ever recover.
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Stevie
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
This just proves all of my previous posts that Ipswich is a "cesspit" It will be another charity shop before too long.
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the opinion man
Tuesday, December 11, 2012