A SOCIAL MEDIA personality who turned up to record in Bromsgrove town centre in his ‘death of the high street’video series got an unexpected surprise – as he found the area was still very much alive.
Entrepreneur, property investor, author and social media personality Rick Gannon was encouraged to visit Bromsgrove as part of his series, which looks at the worst high streets in the Midlands.
Rick toured Bromsgrove High Street with his son Ben to try and see how many empty shops there were on Bromsgrove High Street.
But, despite finding a fair few empty units, Rick found that Bromsgrove High Street was still ‘very much alive.’
He said: “Bromsgrove actually looks quite busy; there’s quite a lot of people about.
“We were told to come here, and it just doesn’t seem too bad at all.
“It’s quite populated, and a lot of shops are open; yes, there are some closed shops, but it’s not the worst place we’ve been to.”
In the video, which was seen by Rick’s 648,000 Facebook subscribers, he also praised Bromsgrove’s stunning Tudor House building.
Ben, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, also praised the wheelchair accessibility of Bromsgrove High Street.
He added: “There are no issues with the pavement; it is very wheelchair accessible here.
“It’s smooth, and you can get into every shop.
“I wouldn’t say Bromsgrove High Street is dying; it’s very much still alive.”
Previous ‘death of the high street’ videos have seen Rick slam areas such as Kidderminster and Worcester for the number of empty shops seen.
In Kidderminster in particular, where he saw over 70 empty shops, Rick said the area was on another level to anything he had seen.
Bromsgrove District Council leader Coun Karen May has welcomed the positive comments and feels that some people on social media are harsh on Bromsgrove.
She told the Standard: “I welcome the positive comments; it’s about attracting investment from businesses and our Nailers Yard project will also really help with that.
“I think it’s brilliant to hear that his son thinks Bromsgrove is so accessible; this is so important.
“I hope this sends out the message that Bromsgrove is open for business.”
