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Shopping in St.Ives Many of the essential features of St.Ives as a shopping centre stem from its historic character. In visual terms, it means that over three-quarters of the shops are also listed buildings of architectural or historic importance. The buildings themselves are often ill-suited to modern retailing methods, and this has contributed to turnover rates being relatively low in comparison with neighbouring Huntingdon and St. Neots. Finally, the strong market town tradition has given the town a legacy in the number and range of shops which, considering its size, is surprisingly high. As a trading centre St. Ives has something of a dual role with Huntingdon, only five miles away. If anything, Huntingdon dominates St. Ives in terms of durable trade, and indeed it occupies a higher position in the urban 'hierarchy'. Nevertheless, St. Ives retained nearly three-quarters of its residents' potential trade in 1972 , and attracts weekly shoppers from a sizeable catchment area . For both towns, Cambridge is the primary 'occasional' centre, particularly in the case of St. Ives. St. Ives also clearly benefits from the wide attraction of the regular Monday market. The Bank Holiday Fairs are amongst the largest occasional markets in the country. The shopping centre of St. Ives is conveniently compact. Its focus is the
T-junction of Bridge Street with Crown Street / The Pavement, spreading mainly
south along both sides of Bridge Street, and east into Market Hill. This
shopping focus is also the prime point for conflict between pedestrians and
through traffic, which is finally to be resolved by the provision of the relief
road. The main opportunities for change are to be found to the north of Crown
Street/The Pavement, where extensions, redevelopment and rear servicing
arrangements are feasible. By contrast, on either side of Bridge Street sites
are constricted by the historic narrow lanes which leave little scope for any
significant change. Source: St. Ives Town Centre Plan (Draft). Huntingdon District Council. Nov. 1977. |
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