The post you are reporting:
Hi Rick
I don't think it is so much that these (Bluewater etc.) shopping centres are bad for us, but they are cerrtainly bad for town centres.
I can't argue with the fact that everything one may want to buy is under one roof there and that car-parking is free, but to me, they are bad for Towns - if we get more of them and they are as big as BlueWater is, then there will be no future for Towns or Town Centres and we will only have local authorities, looking after their statutory responsibilities.
We need to improve the experience of visiting a Town centre, of buying there and relaxing over a coffee, snack, lunch or whatever.
Dover (Town) has some very good architecture, but above the shops many are a disgrace, these need to be smartened up - it has been done in other Towns so can be done here.
Big black tubs with weeds or dead flowers need to change to all-year flowers; people need to know what shops we DO have; car-parking is still a big issue, not so much nowadays perhaps because other considerations have come more into play - the London-rated rents and business rates have so many anomolies within the Town Centre, as well as generally being too high.
There are many more issues of course, not just these and yes BlueWater can beat us (Dover - and many other Towns) easily on choice and free car-parking, but we can work-up Dover on every other level and that is why I have said many times, we need a Retail Business Support Manager NOW.
Roger