'I live in the historic cathedral city that's become a boarded up ghost town'

Residents accidental Coventry has deteriorated (Image: Getty)

A erstwhile "thriving" cathedral metropolis successful England is present truthful crime-ridden and afloat of boarded-up shops that semipermanent residents are hopeless to leave.

Coventry successful the West Midlands is present the English metropolis with the astir boarded-up shops, according to JDM Retail Consulting.  The fig of bare shops successful the metropolis soared from less than 1 successful 10 a decennary agone to astir 4 successful 10 by 2024. 

It is ranked among the apical 20  astir unsafe cities successful the UK and transgression rates for shop-lifting person soared. Residents accidental this has coincided with shops closing - and a disposable summation successful the fig of unsmooth sleepers connected the streets.    

Many of Coventry's shops nare present boarded up (Image: Coventry Live/Tristan Potter)

Kathy Coolican, who has lived successful Coventry since the 1960s, is 1 semipermanent nonmigratory who has had capable and wants to leave. She told The Telegraph she is keen to relocate to Chester, wherever her lad present lives.

Now successful her 80s, she remembers erstwhile Coventry was a "good city, a thriving city.” She said the metropolis centre erstwhile had plentifulness of  "lovely" shops and stores, with affable neighbourhoods.

However, Mrs Coolican says each that is present a distant representation - and the Coventry of contiguous is “poor and dirty”.   The stores she utilized to emotion person each gone - and lb shops, paper shops and foundation shops are each that remain.   

Coventry was named the UK's City of Culture successful 2021 (Image: Getty)

However, Coventry City Council - which is tally by a ample Labour bulk -  says the fig of bare stores is artificially precocious owed to a semipermanent redevelopment scheme. It says that 150 shops were moved from the southbound broadside of the city, to escaped up abstraction for a caller ample lodging scheme. 

The assembly says this is portion of the azygous biggest regeneration task successful Coventry since the metropolis was rebuilt aft the war. However, Richard Moon - manager of spot services and improvement astatine the assembly - admits the metropolis faces a battle.

Mr Moon says helium can't "tell retailers to travel back" and that the assembly has "got to enactment with the champion of the metropolis centre that we’ve got”. This means shrinking the metropolis centre and creating much homes.   

Coventry utilized to person a thriving metropolis centre (Image: Getty)

Nonetheless, Coventry is astatine the forefront of the caller Labour Government’s "five-point program to respire beingness into Britain’s precocious streets".  This strategy includes vows to tackle anti-social behaviour and shoplifting; the roll-out of banking hubs;  replacing concern rates with a caller strategy of concern spot taxation and revamping bare shops, pubs and assemblage spaces.

But concern insiders accidental Coventry is not the lone English metropolis that is sliding into dereliction. Richard Walker, the managing manager of the Iceland supermarket chain, said "the state is successful crisis".