Shoppers react as M&S on Birmingham High Street closes

Transcript

00:00 [silence]

00:10 It feels like parts of city centre are falling away.

00:16 We understand this is being transferred into the Bullring.

00:20 We just heard that.

00:22 In one sense that means it's being replaced.

00:24 But then the street fronts become more and more dead looking.

00:28 Which in a way is sad, but maybe that's the way the consumerist world has to go.

00:33 We can't go on like this.

00:35 I think it's really sad because the shops where most people of our generation walk into,

00:40 and it's also social places for many,

00:44 but the outside centres, retailers, shops are taking over.

00:50 So it's just sad, very, very sad.

00:53 And who's going to change that?

00:55 I don't know. The financial market is not doing well.

00:58 So things are going to kill off.

01:01 I'll be sad to see it go because it's been here a very long time.

01:06 And I have used it quite a lot over the years.

01:11 A lot of closing and I think the city centre looks quite run down really.

01:16 I mean if I wasn't, I grew up here.

01:20 And it seems to have changed so much over the years.

01:24 It looks quite run down to be quite honest.

01:29 Do you use it quite a lot?

01:31 Yes, I did in the past.

01:33 I always shopped for my clothing in here

01:38 and I used to come in here and buy my food shopping.

01:43 How long have you been coming to this one specifically?

01:46 I would say over 25 years at least.

01:49 I think, well, it won't affect me personally but it will affect a few people.

01:56 Sad to see any shop go on the high street.

01:59 I think it's rents.

02:02 They're too high for the high street.

02:05 People can't make a living.

02:07 There was a sort of vision of Birmingham becoming probably this shopping centre I suppose

02:15 as well as for conferences and finance and banks and so on.

02:19 But it feels like the magnetism of this place will go downhill a bit.

02:26 It feels like that.

02:27 But we're of course the older generation.