Gloucester City Centre

Shop selling sweets, snacks, soft drinks and vapes in the city centre on 2nd April 2024 in Gloucester, United Kingdom. Gloucester city centre is an example of the decline of the UK high street and what some local people are calling a 'dying city' as more big name retailers move out and retail spaces close down, having an affect on jobs in the area. Several contributing factors are aligning to result in declining high streets, including the cost of living crisis squeeze on household incomes due to inflation and the post-Brexit fall in the pound, a shift to online shopping, rising rents and overheads including staff wages, and the opening of more shops in new shopping centres in the area which are proving far more popular. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)