ENTREPRENEUR and social media personality Rick Gannon has accepted an offer to tour Kidderminster town centre with council chiefs.
It follows his viral video bemoaning the ‘death of the high street’.
And he wants people from the town to get in touch to let him know what improvements they would like to see.
Mr Gannon, who is a regular contributor on Channel 5 and boasts 653,000 followers on Facebook, stirred up a debate about the state of Kidderminster’s high street. It began when his viral video showed him finding 73 closed units in the town centre. Readers also submitted letters to the Standard about what they felt should be done to improve the town centre.
In the video, he said: “I didn’t think it would be this bad – what is happening in Kidderminster? Because this is unreal.”
After the online debate stirred up by the video, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Planning and the Green Agenda, Coun Dan Morehead, invited Mr Gannon on a tour of Kidderminster town centre, during which he would explain what the authority was doing to address the trends in retail, particularly on the high street.
Taking to social media, he said: “I’ll be sitting down with Coun Dan Morehead – we’re just clarifying dates now.
“The meeting is for the council to respond to my video and to answer questions about what’s really happening on Kidderminster High Street.
“I want to take the people’s questions into that room.
“If you live in Kidderminster, shop there, run a business there, or you’ve simply watched the high street change over the years and you’ve got a question or a concern, tell me and I’ll put it directly to Councillor Morehead.”
After this, comments have come flooding in from residents who have shared how they think the town centre could be improved.
One member of the public asked whether the council would open up the town hall to quarterly meetings so the public felt heard and received answers directly.
Another added: “I would love to see some of the unused buildings turned into homes.
“This would bring more people into the town centre, reduce the need for car use, and allow the greenbelt to be left alone.”
Tell Rick what you think
People can email: [email protected] or search for ‘Rick Gannon’ on Facebook to comment on what they think is needed in the town centre.
Standard readers had their say on the issue in last week’s letters page – click here for more.
If you want to let us know what improvements you would like to see in Kidderminster town centre, email: [email protected] or copy us in to emails to Rick.
