the decline of West Bromwich High Street

Im writing this with a very heavy heart but something has to change. Ive been noticing the decline of West Bromwich High Street for a number of years. It seems that everything that Sandwell council do accelerates the decline. Every penny spent makes it worse rather than better. £4.6m spent on the indoor market and its an embarrassment. The design is rubbish and so is the interior. The "new" high st stalls are a pain to traders - the glass roof makes the place unbearable during hot days. The "play area" in the middle of the high st looks like its been there since the 70s and is not fit for purpose. Who makes the decisions and why are we still allowing this!? How can so many countries around Europe manage to build beautiful and modern structures and we get a slap in the face, for £4.6million! We need to take action. Please comment if youd like to get involved. We need an action group to start pushing the MPs and councillors to do the right thing and stop wasting our money. Im sick of whats happening! Originally posted on Nextdoor: https://nextdoor.co.uk/p/Sm8g7tNR8ctB?utm_source=share&extras=MTc1OTIyMDU4NjQ0NjU%3D&ne_link_preview_links=&utm_campaign=1760445377061&share_action_id=9a52f39f-8ebb-4344-b8c1-6f336b6f0adf

It's EASY to open a business. Too easy...?

Companies House in the UK have recently updated theri rules and processes but it’s still very easy to open a limited company and trade under it. I’ve had come accross people opening and closing LTDs regularly to avoid paying suppliers and staff. These companies use purchased post-forwarding addresses for mail or their accountants address. When they stop paying their subcontractors and even when a court case is won (CCJ) it’s impossible to collect the debt. There are not assets at the purchased address and accountants simply confirm the same when bailiffs attend. Something should be done about this.

The decline of UK High Streets

I’ve been wandering the high streets of England for years, and it’s breaking my heart to see them crumbling into “ghost towns”. I’m in a town just outside Birmingham. It used to be a buzzing spot with butchers, bakeries, and a lot of shops where you’d bump into half the neighborhood on a Saturday. It seems that most of the shops are now closed with no plans of re-opening. The only businesses to survive are vape shops, barbers, and the occasional pound store and/or a pound bakery clinging on for dear life. There’s loads of ‘to let’ shops in the area but the lease cost, utilities and business rates amounts make it impossible to survive. Any ideas of what we could do to improve this? IMO councils should give tax breaks to small businesses even when they rent properties with value over the Small Business Rates Relief.

Housing Ombudsman delays

I’ve dealt with the Housing Ombudsman fairly recently and it took over a year for the complaint to be resolved. Many complaints have an effect on the tenant and their family and many people cannot wait over a year for a resolution. The ombudsman should train more people and get on top of the cases as what’s happening right now is damaging to the rental sector.

WiFi on public transport is UNUSABLE!

Tried using the "free Wi-Fi" on a train from Manchester to Wolverhampton yesterday. I wanted to do some work but… It was like connecting to the internet in dial-up times! What’s the point of advertising FREE WIFI on trains when the speeds dont go above 0.1Mbps? It’s misleading to say the least. Someone should be able to sell Starlink to train operators. I bet the cost pa wouldnt be much more than they’re paying now.

Test post

Hi! This is a test post made to make sure it's all working as it should. ❤️ Much love 😍