Rotherham then and now: A questionnaire for the over 45's.

[the_idiotb_stardson]

Questions about our town.

1. Is Rotherham town centre a better and safer place to shop than it was in 1975?

2. Is Rotherham town centre cleaner and better kept than it was in 1975?

3. Are you more proud now of your town than you were in 1975?

4. Has begging visibly increased in the town since 1975?

5. Has the impact of drug addiction visibly increased since 1975?

6. Do you think the authorities are harder or more lenient on crime now compared with 1975?

7. In a sentence what do you think has had the biggest impact, negative or positive, on our town since 1975?


I would be grateful to all if you could complete the above, many thanks.

[gwru]

1 -3 Yes

4 & 5 no

6 not sure

Town center is all negatives. Biggest impact being immigration.

[rileyev.the.third]

1. No. Unless you like gambling, pawning your items or looking for a new coat for a nicker from a charity shop.

2. Yes. Some areas of the town centre are still a bit rough but on the whole its been modernised quite well and is generally quite tidy.

3. No. The failings of SYP, councillors and the local authority in general have let us down. Miners strike and the CSE scandal especially have placed an almost unrecoverable black mark on the town.

4. Yes.

5. Yes. Also addiction in general has an impact, alcohol and gambling.

6. More lenient in some areas but be careful where you park.

7. Negative, the increase of an underclass of people of many origins but predominantly English born people. Fat scrubbers who don't want to work, breeding like rabbits and being totally anti social. Walking around town supping cans of ale, kids in tow. Very sad really. I do agree we have far too many immigrants living and frequenting the town too.

[a123]

Questions about our town.

1. Is Rotherham town centre a better and safer place to shop than it was in 1975? No. It's certainly not better the offering a variety of shops etc. is far worse. I also don't recall the same level of for the want of a better expression "underclass" people hanging about.

2. Is Rotherham town centre cleaner and better kept than it was in 1975? No. I walked through the town a couple of weeks back and couldn't believe the amount of litter laying about, over flowing bins and a general tired look of the place.

3. Are you more proud now of your town than you were in 1975? I'm as proud now as I was back then. Whenever I am outside of the borough and anyone asks me where I'm from I stick my chest out and say Rotherham. It's a tough Northern town that has had plenty of knocks but I love it and I will always love it.

4. Has begging visibly increased in the town since 1975? Yes.

5. Has the impact of drug addiction visibly increased since 1975? Yes.

6. Do you think the authorities are harder or more lenient on crime now compared with 1975? Lenient, South Yorkshire Police have become a laughing stock who are more interested in diversity than upholding the law.

7. In a sentence what do you think has had the biggest impact, negative or positive, on our town since 1975? Immigration and the failure of the Police and Council to deal with the more objectionable side effects of large scale immigration to the town, is it so difficult to understand that the law is the law irrespective of ethnicity.

[Rotherham Owls]

Rotherham town centre has always been embarrassing compared to other locations. The buses in 1975, into Doncaster and Sheffield were full as the offings in Rotherham were appalling compared to Donny n Sheff.

Nor back in the day did Rotherham face competition from Parkgate, Meadowhall and the growing impact of internet shopping.

Most of the bigger shopping chains are closing down their premises in the small towns as costs can be cut substantially by using the internet which cuts wages, rent, upkeep of the shops, you know the rest.

I have being impressed by the little shops which have appeared around Primark, spent a few hours picking up some nice trinkets but obviously, these shops won't be replacing the likes of M&S, and WH Smiths.

People have no need to go to town, not built with cars in mind, outside in all weathers, the list goes on. I myself do my "Big shop" on the internet and also much of my clothing and and one off buys.

Town centres up and down the country are facing similar issues the only ones which seem to be avoiding the move away from town centre shopping are ones which can offer a historical angle to tempt the tourist/day tripper visitor.

The litter is due in the main to the fast food shops, and peoples reluctance to dispose of their litter, come on admit it all races are as bad as each other. Its one of my bug bears how people just casually toss away their debris and get upset when I challenge them!

Town centres are closing down not because of the immigrants it would have happened regardless. In years to come, town centres will be a thing of the past as the technology age will replace them.

I give you the internet and shopping malls and more litter bins. It's sad but you can't stop progress its how you control it and that's the next challenge how society can benefit from it and not have people left behind which is sadly starting to happen.


(Sorry got carried away)

[jolly_roger]

1. No
2. No
3. Definitely no
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Way more lenient (at times invisible)
7. Massive negative......Eastwood says it all

[vespabri]

1.No
2.Yes
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.Yes
6.More Lenient.

7.Negative:Too many foreigners,Druggies & Alcoholics.
Positive:None really...!!

[millavanilla]

The towns had it..I can remember it when it was buzzing..before the silly council decided to turn it into concrete..
Loads of shops..woolies, davy's, schonutt's, brooks and brooks loads of pubs, a clean wellgate, a walk about able eastwood and ferham...no fear of getting mugged..the only positive is the river being clean after the demise of steelo's...and then the eastopians nick the fish to eat...everywhere I go theres a smell of garlic, dope and all I hear is foreign language...its well an truly fu**ed...

[CAMiller]

Haven't spent enough time in Rotherham the past 20 years to pass judgement but I'd guess you would get the same answers to those questions if you posed them about the majority of medium sized town centres over the past 40 years. Seattle where I work (admittedly a bit bigger than Rotherham) is a beautiful city and often listed in the top 10 cities in the US but still has major problems with open drug dealing, homelessness (3,000+ people living in tents on sidewalks, under freeways/bridges), human excrement in the streets.....etc. Was in a meeting with my boss last week to look out of his 4th floor office window and see a woman squatting down for a piss between cars in the car park opposite. It's not just a Rotherham thing.

[great_fire]

The High Street is certainly an improvement on 5-10 years ago.

Nice Italian deli/ coffee shop, plus a good Thai Supermarket, the sweet shop is good as well, good to have some shops they don't have anywhere else.

Spoiled somewhat by the druggies and alcoholics who have been hanging around the church for some years now and the chav couples who like to go there to have screaming rows (again that's been happening at least 20 years).

I've always mainly shopped in Barnsley though but that is declining rapidly too now, no WHSmiths, HMV, BHS, no bookshops, not even The Works and what must be a record number of Poundshops, Parkgate is better for shopping now.