How Covid has hit Bournemouth's high street

A Centre for Cities report claims Bournemouth lost 25 weeks of potential takings since March 2020.

The Cities Outlook 2022 – Centre for Cities’ annual economic assessment of the UK’s largest urban areas, says central Bristol was the worst affected in the south west, losing 38 weeks of sales between the first lockdown and Omicron’s onset.

Bournemouth is just behind Bristol, Swindon and Exeter for the region.

The town was hit harder than Plymouth and Gloucester, the report states.

Read more: What's in store for Bournemouth town centre?

Bobby's in Bournemouth opened in the empty Debenhams store last year

National v local picture

Nationally, Covid-19 has cost businesses in city and large town centres more than a third (35%) of their potential takings since March 2020, with central London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff worst affected.

Across the 52 city and town centres studied, 2,426 commercial units have become vacant during the pandemic, against 1,374 between 2018 and 2020.

Just this month, Bournemouth has seen the intended departure of Wilko and New Look from the town centre, while Marks and Spencer have closed their Dolphin Centre store in Poole.

But in December, Cllr Philip Broadhead, portfolio holder for development, growth and regeneration at BCP Council said widespread disappointment when major brands closed up, such as department stores, was sometimes too hasty.

“I always reflect that when somebody thinks it is the end of the world when something goes, it actually ends up better than it was before,” said Cllr Broadhead.

“Everyone was so upset when Debenhams went. When Bobby’s is fully up and running it is going to be fantastic.

“When Beales went it was the end of the world, but actually the redevelopment proposals that come through for that are going to be great."

The Marvellous Market at Beale Place

High streets in economically weaker places have been less impacted by Covid-19. Meanwhile in economically stronger places, business closures increased during the pandemic.

This suggests that the Government’s Covid-19 support successfully stalled the decline of many struggling high streets but was less effective in economically stronger places due to higher rents and a lack of custom from office workers.

Read more: How Dorset's high streets performed in 2021

That said, while stronger city centres have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic, their higher levels of affluence mean that, if restrictions end and office workers return, they will likely recover quickly.

Looking back at 2021 last month, Paul Kinvig, chief operating officer of Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), said: “As Charles Dickens put it, it was the best of times it was the worst of times.

“Covid has accelerated what was already going on in change in in town centres, probably by 10 years – with fundamental shifts in retailing and customer shopping behaviours, the move towards ‘experience’ and town centres becoming places you come to have something to eat, to see a show, to look at an exhibition, and to go and shop.”

Vacancy rates

The study also looked at places where city and town centre vacancy rates have changed the most during the pandemic.

Here, Bournemouth was ranked third in the south west, with a percentage change of 3.7%.

And in looking at where had the highest and lowest shares of vacant city centre units after June 2021, Bournemouth was placed fifth in the region, with 16.2% of units vacant, according to the research.

However, it's not a bleak situation - according to the local experts.

Mr Kinvig believes town centres will increasingly be the places where people come to do a combination of things – such as have a meal, see a show and do some shopping. And while times have been tough, Bournemouth has been seeing plenty of visitors.

“In the summer, Bournemouth became the place to go for a staycation, and then in terms of footfall that first weekend of the Christmas Tree Wonderland we were six per cent up on 2019."

Recover quickly

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said: "While the pandemic has been a tough time for all high streets it has levelled down more prosperous cities and towns in the south west. Despite this, the strength of their wider local economies means they are well placed to recover quickly from the past two years.

“The bigger concern is for economically weaker places – primarily in the North and Midlands – where Covid-19 has actually paused their long-term decline. To help them avoid a wave of high street closures this year the Government must set out how it plans to increase peoples’ skills and pay to give them the income needed to sustain a thriving high street. Many of these places are in the so-called Red Wall so there is a political imperative for the Government to act fast, as well as an economic one.”