Latest news with #ghosttown
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Our once thriving town is dying thanks to MONTHS of roadwork hell – pubs empty, shops shut & tourists can't stand racket
A ONCE-thriving town and gateway to one of Britain's 'Seven Wonders' has become a "ghost town" - with tourists "actively avoiding it". Horrendous roadworks and noise pollution are making the popular staycation destination a "nightmare" for visitors, locals and traders say. 19 19 19 Located on the southern edge of the Peak District, Ashbourne is undergoing a huge and costly redevelopment to make its roads narrower and footpaths wider. But blocked off streets, dug-up roads and piercing noise from heavy machinery are driving visitors away from the picturesque Derbyshire town, according to residents. The high street, which is home to quaint shopfronts and inviting pubs, is instead littered with bright orange barriers, diggers and road closed signs - and could kill off trade altogether, locals fume. Business owners have slammed the council over the £15m Ashbourne Reborn campaign, which has heavily impacted footfall and caused shops to take in as little as £10 a day. The roadworks, which have forced several local shops to close, are not scheduled to finish until at least October - well after the summer influx of tourists. It's become a ghost town and it's become survival of the fittest because shoppers and tourists are simply avoiding us, which is very sad. Georgina Ashworthshop owner Georgina Ashworth, owner of local shop Pretty Things, said: "Visitors and shoppers are thinking twice about coming here, and businesses are closing down. "It's become a ghost town and it's become survival of the fittest because shoppers and tourists are simply avoiding us, which is very sad. 19 19 19 "They can't just nip across the road to browse and buy in many shops because the place is dug up and it's so noisy, people are walking around with their fingers in their ears. "The roadworks have been going on for months and have driven everyone away. People are avoiding Ashbourne. "[The council] have not offered any compensation for loss of business and it seems to be getting worse, rather than better. I visited creepy ghost town on tropical island - there is one building open "Shops are closing - the vintage clothing shop across the road shut its doors last weekend and more will follow. It's a shame. "If there are any visitors, it will put them off coming back again." She told how even local residents had been outfoxed by the confusing layout and rampant roadworks. The council -run project has seen excavators targeting all routes in and out of town, causing traffic chaos and delays. Jacob Hackett, who works at The Bridge Pub, said business was so bad the boozer had started closing early. The bartender said: "We're just not getting the footfall. 19 19 19 "We've had roadworks outside for two months and the noise from the machinery drives you mad! "Normally we get a lot of tourists and passing trade but they're not coming into town. "We're open from midday to 11pm but the other day we closed at 3pm because we had no customers." Whilst pedestrians can still access the streets on narrow, sealed-off footpaths, no vehicles can enter. Traders have pointed to the summer months as being crucial for the survival of small businesses in the area. But the chaos of excavators running rampant through the town centre poses a serious threat to shopkeepers' livelihoods. 19 19 Jo Hall, owner of The Olde Sweet Shoppe, told Derbyshire Live: "I do not understand why there was no impact assessment done. "It could have given businesses hope as to what positive impact we can expect after the losses we're facing this summer. "It's summers that get you through the winters. Next autumn and winter, I believe we will see a lot of shops struggle. "Ashbourne is made up of micro-businesses, most of us traders here don't have another shop somewhere else to fall back on. "It may well be that shop after shop just can't cope." Ms Hall's shop is now only accessible by a narrow, dead-end footpath. Derbyshire County Council apologised for the disruption but insisted the town was still accessible and "open for business". A council spokesperson said: 'We understand that local people, traders and visitors are feeling frustrated with the roadworks in Ashbourne at the moment and would like to offer our apologies for any inconvenience they are causing. "We were always mindful that the works would cause disruption, but business are open and accessible and Ashbourne is still very much open for business. 19 19 'We are working with all our partners, including Derbyshire Dales District Council, to do all we can to both speed up the roadworks and work with traders to address any specific concerns they may have. "Once the work is finished Ashbourne will be a much better place to visit.' Derbyshire has developed a reputation for its quirky spa towns, rich history and grand country homes. Ashbourne has previously been hailed as an "underrated" getaway, providing a cheaper option for Brits looking to book somewhere close to the national park. It is often referred to as "the gateway to Dovedale" - a popular valley in the Peak District which was hailed as one of the seven wonders of the UK by the Royal Geographical Society in 2021. According to analysis by Independent Cottages, the town has gained more attention in recent years than more celebrated staycation spots in the area, including places like Bakewell. 19 Ashbourne is home to more than 200 listed buildings, including Grade I listed Old Grammar School and The Greenman Pub. Another landmark in the area is St Oswald's Parish Church, which boasts an impressive 212ft high spire. It is also famed for its globally renowned gingerbread, which was allegedly brought to the town during the Napoleonic War. Legend has it that the recipe was given to a local by the personal chef of a captured French general, who was being held captive there at the beginning of the 19th Century. The black and white timber-framed gingerbread shop can still be seen in the roadwork-ridden town centre today. Once a year, locals participate in a peculiar sporting tradition known as Shrovetide Football. Taking place on Shrove Tuesday, the annual event is played over two eight-hour periods, with the goals spaced three miles apart and players able to handle the ball. The games can often become quite violent due to the lack of rules. Local shops and businesses have taken to boarding up their windows in anticipation of the spectacle - but they could be boarding their businesses up for good if the town continues to be plagued by roadworks.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Ghost towns that were once bustling gold mining, farming, railway hubs
The decaying ruins of Jubilee tell a tale of what might have been. Like many other Victorian gold mining towns of the age it boasted busy diggings, mighty processing engines and cosy homes for the hopeful miners that lived and toiled there. The local school once echoed to the laughter of 500 children. But Jubilee was not destined to become one of Australia's famed mining cities. Once the gold was dug out and carted away, Jubilee dwindled and died. What's left are the remnants of a town that might have been. Federation University associate professor of history David Waldron said Jubilee had succumbed to the boom-bust cycle typical of many mining communities. "That becomes self-perpetuating as people leave. The shops have fewer people to sell to. There's less reason to be there, facilities disappear, and eventually so does the town for all intents and purposes." As is the way, Jubilee had a relatively short life. Gold was found in the 1850s and, after a gold-bearing reef was uncovered in 1887, it become a boom town. However, the gold soon dried up and by 1912 Jubilee was completely abandoned. Old Tallangatta's path to ghost-hood was anything but a gradual decline. When the Hume Dam's height was raised 9 metres it eventually flooded the town, previously named Tallangatta. The town's population famously moved about 8 kilometres west to Bolga where a new town (renamed Tallangatta) was built. The flooded town posthumously became known as Old Tallangatta. The town's remains can be seen when the Hume Weir dips to half-full, with a handful of occupied houses remaining above the dam's high-water mark. It's not the only ghost town on Australian maps. Cook, in far western South Australia, was a railway town that serviced the Trans-Australian Railway and once boasted a hospital and school. But the introduction of more reliable trains and railway lines meant Cook's role was eventually rendered redundant. Its population dwindled to next to nothing and it is now little more than a stopover point for passengers on the Indian Pacific train. It's now widely regarded as a ghost town, despite an official population of 71, according to the 2021 census. Dr Waldron said any town that once boasted a large population but had declined to the point where practically all businesses and services had been wound up could be classified as ghost towns. "If you look at the famous ghost town of Linda in western Tasmania, there are still some people who live there, who are hanging on," he said. "Sometimes they try and set up tourism, which is the case [in] … Linda, being quite a strange gothic spectacle of a place." Dr Waldron said other locations like Steiglitz in Victoria had become heritage sites. "It's no longer about the industry that once led to the town being significant," he said. Gold and other precious metals aren't always found in the most convenient places. When gold was found in Gippsland, it was often in mountainous regions that were difficult to reach. The wealth it generated was encouragement enough for families to build in out-of-the-way places like Grant. But once the ground's wealth dissipated, so did their willingness to remain in Grant. Linda Barraclough, a Gippsland historian, said Grant was a thriving place in its heyday. "It was so busy it even had a double main street," she said. "It had hundreds of people, and pubs, and dance halls … they brought it a prefabricated church from England to put up." She said once the Grant gold rush concluded, so did the town's chance of survival. "If you go there now, there is nothing there. You might find the cemetery, and some old bricks and that's about it." Victoria and Western Australia's ghost towns often rose and fell with those states' gold mining fortunes. In New South Wales and Queensland, railways were the common denominator. But when the trains stopped coming, so did the people, according to photographer and outback explorer Greg Davis. "Often they were agricultural towns [that closed], and when the agriculture declined during times of drought, the trains stopped coming and the town closed up," Mr Davis said. "A lot of them became ghost towns in the 1970s, especially in NSW. Changes in agriculture continues to impact rural townships to this day. Dr Waldron said some farming towns risked following old mining and railway settlements into ghost-town status. "Farming is now a high-tech agricultural industry. The number of people employed has declined and the kind of employment is declined," he said. "Those regional centres that accommodated those labourers now face economic decline and, in those cases, face a slow death as that industry transforms." Dr Waldron said there was hope for some of these ghost towns, mainly though tourism. "Ghost towns are gaining in popularity and a lot of people are coming out from Melbourne as well as internationally to explore them," he said. "With the tourists, and of course the tourists' money, comes new industries, new development and new opportunities. "That's certainly happened in old gold mining towns in central Victoria such as Maldon and Castlemaine, which have redeveloped as cultural tourism centres."
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Inside the ‘worlds emptiest airport' that cost £161million to build – but has just seven passengers a week
AN AIRPORT in Sri Lanka costing over £161million, appears more like a ghost town with only seven passengers using it a week. Mattala Rakapaksa International Airport (MRIA) opened back in 2013 with a grand vision to accommodate up to six million passengers a year. 5 5 5 However the airport, which is 11 miles from Hambantota, has earnt the title of the 'world's quietest airport', according to Travel and Tour World, after struggling to get passengers. The airport features a runway stretching over 11,000 feet and has a 110,000 square feet terminal, with two gates and 12 check-in counters. But all of this was part of a much bigger plan. Hambantota was to become Sri Lanka's second most prestigious city - with a this new international airport, a £1billion multi-stage deep sea port, a large industrial zone, a conference centre, world-class cricket stadium and a number of new housing, hotel and tourism developments. But this did not materialise. In fact, the construction of the airport was controversial, as it was built in the heart of an elephant corridor and migratory bird zone. This meant, that to make room for the airport, around 2,000 acres of vital habitat was cleared. This wasn't the only setback for the airport. Initially, MRIA hosted several international and domestic carriers - but with little passenger demand, most airlines gradually withdrew their services. And in 2016, the airport was supposed to undergo expansion, which would increase the number if gates to 15. Belfast Airport £100million upgrade But instead the airport operated around two flights per week, with now it seeing only seven passengers per week. And by 2018, only a handful of carriers remained at the airport. Currently, the airport serves a small selection of airlines including Bulgaria Air and SkyUp Airlines. But the empty airport has mostly been used for storing planes or for flights landing to refuel. The future of the airport remains unclear, as reports have circulated suggested that India may be interested in taking over the facility. However, no formal agreement has been reached. For now, the airport is being maintained - even though there are no passengers. The first look at a £100million revamp of major UK airport with 'much needed' upgrades has been revealed. Plus, the UK's oldest airport that once had flights to France and even live music festivals. 5 5
The Sun
07-05-2025
- The Sun
Once-bustling Pontins seaside holiday park loved by families left abandoned & frozen in time after suddenly closing down
A ONCE-bustling Pontins park has become an eerie ghost town after closing down two years ago. The site has stood abandoned and unused ever since, becoming a desolate theme park that's like stepping back in time. 4 4 4 Pontins Holiday Park in Southport was closed suddenly, with holiday apartments being completely abandoned by the super-chain. Furnishings and decorations have been left completely intact, creating an almost post-apocalyptic feeling. Outdoor play areas have been unused for years, with timber swings, picnic tables and slides standing silent on the site. Thrill-seeking adventurer and urban explorer Matt first discovered the scene, before sharing it with fans on his social media page Exploring with Matt. Opening up about his daring career, Matt said: "I find places to go by looking at online websites dedicated to abandoned buildings and there is a huge online urban explorers community. 'For me, I am just so interested in buildings with a lot of history, such as old theatres, hospitals or abandoned colleges or high schools. 'They are like time capsules. 'It is so fascinating to me." Upon seeing the chilling video, fans began sharing their experiences at the Pontins Holiday Park. One commented: "It's a shame it's closed and looks really tidy and clean! I stayed at 'nightmare' Pontins hotel with ant nests and broken lights - I made a quick escape "This place has probably made so many memories over the years with children making friends and people meeting their life long partners!" Another blamed the Cost of Living crisis - which began under the previous Tory government - on the closure. Rental and maintenance costs have skyrocketed in recent years, thanks to factors including Liz Truss' mini-budget, COVID, Brexit and Trump's tariffs. Many companies, like Pontin's, were forced to close some of their facilities just to stay afloat. At the time of the Southport closure, Pontins said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Pontins Southport Holiday Park. "After assessing the future viability of the park, we have come to the difficult decision to close our doors. "Unfortunately, this means that Pontins Southport Holiday Park will be closing from Wednesday 3rd January 2024. "We apologise for any inconvenience caused." The company also closed its Pontins Prestatyn and Pontins Camber Sands parks in a bid to cut costs. 4
