Why people like me might have to drop the nostalgia and accept town centres are changing - Ismail Mulla

Then as I grew older and discovered a love for coffee, I’d visit the quaint little independent coffee shop at one of the Victorian arcade.

However, in 2016 the whole Arcade was closed down. It was a major setback for a town centre that was already on its knees.

Fast forward to 2021, I was privileged enough to be given a behind the scenes tour of the Grade II-listed building. What I saw was decay and neglect.

Amongst the exposed wiring was the carcass of what I assumed was an electrocuted pigeon. The glass and iron canopy had seen better days. The units had a stench of dereliction about them.

The one thing that stood out the most on that day was the people that I spoke to. They were full of energy and excitement. Some of these people would go on to form the Arcade Group, a not-for-profit community group that now runs the site. There was hope for this grand old building in the enthusiasm of these people.

Naturally I was excited to see what the newly restored Arcade had to offer so I went along to the reopening. The reopening had drawn people to the town centre. It was good to see young families milling around this grand old building.

It’s hard to judge something on its opening day so I went back the following weekend. This time it was much quieter.

I get the idea of pop-up shops filling our empty retail units, it is better than nothing but what places like Dewsbury really need are long-term small businesses that become a fabric of the town.

As I walked around a sparsely populated market, I overheard one of the dwindling number of stallholders there say to another shopper that they would love to rent a unit but couldn’t afford it.

If the Prime Minister is serious about delivering “good growth in every postcode” then he needs to look at easing the burden on small businesses so that they can help inject life into our high streets.

Small businesses alone are not going to be able to bring life back to our high streets. Therefore credit must be given to Leeds Building Society, which this week pledged to keep all 51 of its branches open for the next five years at least.

The mutual has also pledged that all of its branches will be open every weekday from 9.30am until 4.45pm, with no appointment needed.

Annette Barnes, chief executive officer of Leeds Building Society, said: “We’re committing to the high street and giving members certainty that all 51 of our branches across the UK will remain open for at least the next five years, with consistent opening hours every weekday, as we continue to offer valuable face-to-face support alongside digital services.”

This is not only the very essence of a member led mutual but also an example to all the greedy banks that have left their loyal customers in a lurch by closing branches and retreating to the online sphere.

Back in Dewsbury market as I rounded off my trip with a takeaway coffee from a well known chain, I wondered whether nostalgia was clouding my thinking. Yes market towns like Dewsbury need shops but pining for things to be as they used to be was not realistic.

Perhaps it is time for fresh thinking in my hometown and indeed others like it.

Maybe the future is mixed-use developments. Flats upstairs with retail units downstairs. Given the housing crisis and the lack of need for people to come into town centres anymore, having potential customers living upstairs may just prove a salvation.

It is already happening in some places and while some of us will still reminisce about the past it may just be time to accept the new reality. It’s either that or decline.

The Arcade is more important than what stores are inside it. It is a symbol of people in a town that has had its fair share of problems refusing to be ground down.

For them and for our own good town centres are worth fighting for. It’s one of the few places where people can still be sociable in an increasingly isolated world.