'Indoor market or music venue' - what next for vacant shop in key York street?
Steve Wrigley from Acomb said mixing accommodation and retail in the city centre would be useful (Image: Kevin Glenton)
An indoor market, a live music venue and a golf shop are just some of the suggestions to replace a high street institution after its closure in York city centre.
As the shutters came down on TG Jones this week, The Press has been asking shoppers and our readers what should fill the vacant space in Coney Street.
TG Jones closed its store, formerly WHSmith, on Monday (October 19), which followed the closure of a principal Post Office in the same building five days earlier.
Local councillors said identifying a replacement for the post office was important, especially for those who rely on its vital services, while the council's spokesperson for the economy said the city centre was one of the most "vibrant" retail locations in the UK.
The Press went back on Tuesday to get the views of people in Coney Street about the closures and also set up a callout on social media to ask who potential new tenants should be.
On The Press Facebook page, the highest proportion of suggestions were for the Post Office to reopen, although some commenters pointed to the presence of a branch in Colliergate, 300 metres or so away.
Other fresh ideas for 39-41 Coney Street included an indoor market, a home interiors shop, a live music venue, a golf shop, and a branch of Forbidden Planet – a pop-culture retailer specialising in comics and graphic novels.
Cllr Pete Kilbane, City of York Council's executive member for economy said: "If any business or organisation wants to set up shop they better act fast.
"York city centre is one of the most vibrant locations for retail in the UK, with the number of vacant shops way below half the national average and new outlets opening all the time."
On Tuesday evening, over the space of 30 minutes we saw a few heads looking into the window at the empty shelves stripped right back to the basic fixtures, checking out the A4 notices advising of the nearest TG Jones in Monks Cross and the information board from the Post Office.
Coney Street on Tuesday afternoon - several shoppers were looking into the windows of number 39 to 41. (Image: Kevin Glenton)
Almost everybody we stopped at the doors was looking to use post office services.
One visitor from abroad was typing Monks Cross directions into a phone with the intention of trying to change some currency.
Steve Wrigley, 73, from Acomb, said he often walks into town to use Post Office services.
He said: “This is really surprising to me.
“Even though I can use Front Street, I have come in to use the central one.”
On the subject of the closure of a day-to-day service in Coney Street, he said the situation was “a bit like the banks, they all disappeared, and the closure of the Post Office was a bit of a loss.”
We showed him two images from the outlined masterplans for residential development and the riverside walk behind Coney Street from York-based developer Helmsley Group and asked for his views on what is needed in a 21st century retail high street.
Images from Helmsley Group show how Coney Street could look (left) and a riverfront area behind it named Waterloo Place (Image: Contributed)
He said: “In the town centre, the idea of having accommodation here is good, of having the 15-minute city, and having a mixture with retail would be useful.”
Ellie Bliss, a 22-year-old second-year University of York student, said TG Jones was somewhere that she might buy stationery but would now buy these items in supermarkets.
She said she was happy with the retail choices in York but said it was a concern that big shops were closing in city centres, which also meant job losses.
Ellie Bliss said she was concerned for job losses associated with high street closures (Image: Kevin Glenton)
Labour's Guildhall ward councillors said they were "very concerned about the closure of the Post Office and are urging for a new one to open as soon as possible."
Cllr Dave Merrett said: “It’s a real loss to city centre residents and others who used this Post Office branch inside the former TG Jones store, and obviously a very difficult time for those who’ve lost their jobs too.
“The other city centre branch is very small so it’s important a replacement for the Coney Street branch is identified as soon as possible, so people have options for accessing their pension, benefits, food vouchers and other vital services.
“As ward councillors we’re hopeful given the Post Office says it has received interest from multiple retailers, but this needs to happen soon to avoid long gaps in service”.
Two long-term residents of Fishergate who did not want to give their names said they would like to have seen the Post Office stay in Coney Street and said they had used WHSmith and TG Jones for stationery for their grandchildren, along with art equipment and materials.
The couple said that “we’ll continue to try to buy it as part of our shopping in the city".
In the context of what's next for Coney Street, the couple said they’d enjoyed the independent shopping scene of the Devonshire Quarter, near Sheffield’s city centre.
They said it’s important that 21st century cities “get the balance right” between resident and visitor needs and said one of their fears is that York “could become a new Disneyland,” adding that the proposed tourism tax is “essential” for the city’s future.