Towns or Cities where you were born or lived that have declined or improved over the years

[philosopher]

I was born in Birmingham in 1983. Birmingham improved massively between 1990 and 2005, with much of the City Centre regenerated, most notably the new Bull Ring shopping centre and Broad Street / Brindley Place area in the southwest of the City Centre. In 2005 Birmingham I think was either the first or second largest shopping centre outside London and had hosted major international events. In 1998, the city hosted both the G7 and Eurovision Song Contest. After 2005, the rate of improvement slowed down, there were a few improvements such as the New Street station rebuilding, the tram extension and the new library. However local government at this time somewhat lost their way. For example, the tram extension got delayed by about 10 years while the council pushed for it be underground which was realistically never going to get funding.

Since 2020 Birmingham in my view has declined quite a bit. The John Lewis department store never reopened after Covid. The 2022 Commonwealth Games for some reason did not really help it revive its fortunes. Bad management from the council, resulted in the council becoming bankrupt in 2023. Much of the City Centre now feels run down and the centre does feel a lot less vibrant compared to other large non London cities such as Manchester and Glasgow. Generally, now most people would say Manchester is the UK’s second city, which was not the case when I was younger, which I think reflects Brum’s relative decline.

It will be interesting to see if HS2 reverses the relative decline of Birmingham.

 

[jfollows]

However the character and charm of Manchester is disappearing. I'm only in my thirties and a lot of my favourite pubs and bars have gone, replaced by gimmicky theme bars, massive turnover of restaurants and soulless apartments. I understand the need for the apartments and offices for tax income but there needs to be a balance to keep the character of the city, which I think they're getting wrong

Yes, I agree, I went to school in Manchester (going through the centre twice daily) 1973-1980, worked in Manchester for a few months in 1980, and owned and lived in a flat in Manchester 1996-2014 (although I moved out to Wilmslow in 2008).

The city may be better in some ways, but its character is a lot worse. The seemingly vast number of soulless skyscrapers always depresses me now. I came home by Uber a few weeks ago in which the driver for some reason decided to use the Stretford Road, and I was amazed by how much it has changed - not for the better - with retail boxes everywhere. I used to drive to work in Sale along this route some 20+ years ago.

I'll be going there tomorrow because I feel like looking round a few shops, and honestly there's nowhere else I can think of in the vicinity that stacks up.

Obviously part of it is old age, but I'm glad I don't live there any more. Oh yes, not least because there is planning approval for another vast skyscraper which would be directly in my view from where I used to live, just south of Oxford Road station.

Stockport, on the other hand, seems vastly improved although I haven't been there much recently.

 

[350401]

The city may be better in some ways, but its character is a lot worse. The seemingly vast number of soulless skyscrapers always depresses me now

Whilst I do understand concerns about the blandness (seriously architects, other materials than glass and steel are available), the fact is we are in a very grim housing crisis. Manchester is one of the few places really doing something about it, with huge amounts of new apartments being built. The huge rise in city centre living since the IRA bombing has driven a huge amount of improvement and regeneration in the city centre, and enabled places like the northern quarter and the gay village to thrive. Manchester in 2025 has a lot more shops, bars and general cafe culture than it did in 2005. I went to school in Manchester and remember how it was in the early 2000s - whilst still okay then, it’s a lot more vibrant today. Manchester is a U.K. success story, and every time I visit, I’m sorely tempted to pack it up in London and return home.

 

[Cross City]

Generally, now most people would say Manchester is the UK’s second city

They'd be wrong.

Brum is much better than it was even 10 years ago.

 

[jfollows]

They'd be wrong.

Brum is much better than it was even 10 years ago.

I don’t go there often, but when I do I’m impressed, it’s now a nice enough place. In the 1970s I’d not think of leaving New Street station.

 

[Cross City]

I don’t go there often, but when I do I’m impressed, it’s now a nice enough place. In the 1970s I’d not think of leaving New Street station.

Don't get me wrong, it has its problems, but so does every city and I wouldn't move to any other major UK city apart from maybe Glasgow.

 

[alex397]

I would say Dover has gone down hill in my lifetime, and before.

It started at the beginning of WW2 when a lot of residents left due the invasion threat. 40000 down to 16000 at one point.

Then in my lifetime so many jobs have gone. The military all gone, the coal mines, the engineering works, the mills have gone. Very northern . Employment on the ferries has plummeted, P&O being the final ferry company to discard the locals.

I often visit Dover, as I find it a very interesting place for various reasons. But it’s a real shame to see it in such a state. Many empty shops - M&S left the main high street a few years ago (though there is one now at the St James Centre). Even the McDonalds and KFC have left the high street.
The town has a huge amount of potential. It has so much potential for tourism yet seems to waste this. It has coaches full of tourists passing it to get to/from the ferry, and of course hundreds visit Dover Castle every day it’s open. I’ve rarely seen tourists in the town centre, even though there are attractions like the Roman Painted House and the Bronze Age Boat.
There have been improvements to the seafront and Market Square, but also some historic buildings have recently been demolished, and a marina has been filled in to create a beautiful lorry park.
I also find it interesting that the Eastern Docks is supposedly the largest employer in the town - yet there is absolutely no public transport to get there!

 

[Bishopstone]

My hometown was Hornchurch in the east London suburbs. When I return I’m struck by the increased volume of traffic, and the rude impatience of many drivers. Plus the change in the mix of retail outlets from ‘butcher, baker and candlestick maker’ to nail bars, vape shops and Turkish barbers – but that’s our collective faults for valuing the convenience of supermarkets and e-commerce over supporting local family-run businesses. Public transport is better now than it was in the 80s.

I’ve been in East Sussex for 18 years. Over that time the negative, again, is more and sometimes extraordinary levels of traffic. The positive changes have been the blossoming of some brilliant local community groups, and – bucking the national trend – the opening of some interesting independent shops, with a thriving high street. I don’t have a downer on gentrification – bijou cafes, new restaurants and apartment blocks with a bit of architectural flair are fine by me.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I've lived in 8 different parts of the UK since birth. Every one has deteriorated when I've revisited them years later.

My current location was a bustling market town 35 years ago (my wife attests to that). It's a shabby social car-crash now.

 

[Foxhunter]

Leeds was where I spent my formative years. I left in the early 1970's and remember that as a time of decline with the contraction of the wool and garment trade, and almost complete elimination of heavy industry in South Leeds. I return periodically and see a city very much better than when I left, certainly safer, and almost universally welcoming and friendly people. (A couple of years ago a busy bus I was on stopped outside St James' Hospital and 3 people with obvious disabilities and impairments boarded - 6 people vacated their seats to offer them somewhere to sit). If we could just have A4's running up to London from Central station again the place would be perfect.

 

[JD2168]

Sheffield- gone very downhill with less big name shops in the City Centre & rundown areas like Haymarket which currently looks awful. All you see now are betting/vape shops & nail bars

 

[4COR]

Another one born in Croydon (Mayday Hospital) - it is *so* much more down-market than it was. Even mid 00s, it was on the way down when I moved away.

 

[Gostav]

They'd be wrong.

Brum is much better than it was even 10 years ago.

One of the big problems facing Birmingham is the large number of vacant office buildings, which greatly limited its future development in urban reconstruction.

 

[AlterEgo]

They'd be wrong.

Brum is much better than it was even 10 years ago.

It’s literally bankrupt. If it was a country it would be a failed state. And yes I’ve lived there.

Birmingham is arguably our worst city which barely makes a mark on the cultural consciousness of England, and is becoming increasingly irrelevant if such a thing were possible. This is thanks to demographic change and the increasing relevance of the northern city axis with Manchester at its centre.

 

[stuart81]

Yes barber shops on their own we could easily start a separate thread, I bet there isn’t many of us where we live or not to far away where they are surfacing at quite a rate & often not that far apart from each other, got to feel sorry for the barbers that have been there for years if not decades.

Back on topic I used to travel every couple of months to East Anglia but haven’t for the last 15 years but Ipswich & further across the map Norwich were quite thriving shopping areas as was Colchester which from what you’ve said is still doing ok.

Certainly a lot of people I know regularly go to Norwich or Colchester for shopping, especially as the rail links are quick

 

[Peter Sarf]

It’s literally bankrupt. If it was a country it would be a failed state. And yes I’ve lived there.

Birmingham is arguably our worst city which barely makes a mark on the cultural consciousness of England, and is becoming increasingly irrelevant if such a thing were possible. This is thanks to demographic change and the increasing relevance of the northern city axis with Manchester at its centre.

No no Croydon is worse. Demographically and more bankrupt.

From what I recall Birmingham got hit by a time bomb expense from way back. Paying female staff less than male and agreeing a lot later to rectify the unfairness without maybe realise the massive cost. Croydon is just generally badly run and bled money into projects that fed self interest (allegedly) that the police may be looking into..

I was born in Birmingham and saw it as a chld in the 60s, 70s amd 80s when visiting my grandparents. Of course i lived on Nirmingham New Street station platforms !. So perhaps I am using rose tinted spectacles. BUT - In February I went back for a visit and I was stunned how good the Bull Ring and Grand Central shopping centres are. Really really good and civilised. Plenty of promise.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I preferred Manchester the way it was before the IRA bomb - there's just something about Manchester today that doesn't attract me and I prefer Liverpool now.

I remember visiting Manchester just before the IRA bomb with my cousin. He was a bit of a "businessman", and we went around some computer shops where he wanted to do a deal. The deal involved a lorry full of computers that he had somehow obtained, and we went into some very weird and wonderful places ran by some equally interesting characters.

The surreal and amusing thing was that he actually found a buyer, and so a couple of hours later, we were unloading this lorry full of computers. I don't know what the specifics were or how he managed to convince someone to hand over a big wad of cash, but it perfectly summed up pre-bomb Manchester to me. Nowadays, while I like it and it's a fun place to be in, it doesn't have that grittiness and Northern character that it had back then.

In terms of places that have improved, Glasgow must surely be up there. While there's still plenty of rough parts, it's nowhere near the ned-filled hole that it was in the late 90s. The "Young Teams" are really no longer a thing, and much of the senseless violence that used to characterise the 'schemes' is simply no longer there.

 

[DarloRich]

Shall I offer a counter argument:

These places were always bad we have just got older and succumbed to some kind of nostalgia for our earlier lives especially if we have "moved away".

That and society and business ( and the manner of doing business) changing. Why are high streets in many towns so poor? Because you dont need to go to them anymore. I don't even need to visit the supermarket now. Just buy on line.

 

[4COR]

I remember visiting Manchester just before the IRA bomb with my cousin.

Mate of mine from Manchester has said that event was the best thing that could have happened to the centre of the city....

 

[BeijingDave]

Warrington seems to have become more violent.

For example, the Garry Newlove and Brianna Ghey murders.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Mate of mine from Manchester has said that event was the best thing that could have happened to the centre of the city....

There's more than a grain of truth in that.

I visited Manchester several times from mid 1989 to end 1990. The Piccadilly area, Fountain Street, the Cathedral, environs of Victoria - not good memories.

Conversely - I worked in Castleton for three years 2005 to 20l08, I hotelled, I dined and I supped beer in Manchester each evening. What transformation; I enjoyed those times.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Shall I offer a counter argument:

These places were always bad we have just got older and succumbed to some kind of nostalgia for our earlier lives especially if we have "moved away".

That and society and business ( and the manner of doing business) changing. Why are high streets in many towns so poor? Because you dont need to go to them anymore. I don't even need to visit the supermarket now. Just buy on line.

There is some mileage in what you say but some places have deteriorated/changed a lot more than others.
For me I now realise Croydon is a uniquely serious disaster since I have recently re-visited places I used to work - Sutton, Bromley and even Redhill.

 

[Ivor]

There is some mileage in what you say but some places have deteriorated/changed a lot more than others.
For me I now realise Croydon is a uniquely serious disaster since I have recently re-visited places I used to work - Sutton, Bromley and even Redhill.

I agree re Croydon although up until the last decade I only lived in Wandsworth & Croydon London Boroughs & there must be many more inner city areas across the UK with a similar picture.

I also remember when I was young (not sure actually I can remember that far back now) other areas of South London like Battersea & Fulham were very working class & much of it council & private housing, different nowadays a totally different demographic.

 

[Egg Centric]

Bishop Auckland used to be - frankly - a complete dump.

Then along came Johnathan Ruffer. The good that man has done cannot be overstated.

The transformation has been epic. Kynren alone is enough to put it on the tourist map imo.

All they need to do is demolish the blight that is the former job centre (they're not going to though - they're turning it into flats. Can't have everything).

 

[BAFRA77]

Birmingham is arguably our worst city which barely makes a mark on the cultural consciousness of England, and is becoming increasingly irrelevant if such a thing were possible.

You’ve never been to Worcester then…

 

[Cross City]

You’ve never been to Worcester then…

Or Wolverhampton, or Coventry, or Leicester, or Bradford, or Leeds, or MK... etc.

 

[Egg Centric]

Or Wolverhampton, or Coventry, or Leicester, or Bradford, or Leeds, or MK... etc.

Leicester, Leeds, and MK are all far better than Birmingham. I'll give you the other three!

But even if they weren't they wouldn't be the second biggest city in the UK, which is what makes Birmingham such a disgrace (albeit that the very city centre itself is quite nice now). There's far more to do in say Newcastle than there is in Birmingham. It's nuts.

 

[cactustwirly]

Or Wolverhampton, or Coventry, or Leicester, or Bradford, or Leeds, or MK... etc.

Leicester does not deserve to be in the same bucket as Bradford, Birmingham or Coventry.
You completely ignored Nottingham and Derby which are arguably worse than Leicester

 

[Cross City]

Leicester does not deserve to be in the same bucket as Bradford, Birmingham or Coventry.
You completely ignored Nottingham and Derby which are arguably worse than Leicester

Having lived in Leicester for 4 years I strongly disagree, I hate the place, but horses for courses.

 

[cactustwirly]

Having lived in Leicester for 4 years I strongly disagree, I hate the place, but horses for courses.

I lived there for 3 and whilst it's not York or Bath by any means I found it decent, the City centre is good with nice cafes and bars, good pubs. Nice looking buildings by the cathedral