ANDOVER (Hampshire) - Why so many empty shops ? VAN LIFE UK

#andover #hampshire #england #vanlifeuk
In today's van life UK travel adventure, we visited Andover in Hampshire for a quick look around. We parked the van in the Asda car park (pay and display) and explored the town centre.
I don't usually like paying for parking but as I walked to the machine to find out the cost, a man who was about to leave, gave me his ticket that still had 2 hours left on it !
That was a good start.
Unfortunately, Andover has seen better times. Although there are lots of beautiful old buildings there is unfortunately, lots of empty shops. On top of that, the Chantry Shopping centre looks very tired. There were even holes in the ceiling !
I'm sure a few years ago it was lovely but now it's in desperate need of investment.
The figures for Andover are not great either. The overall crime rate in Andover is 102 crimes per 1000 people. The national average is 87 per 1000 people.
I didn't dislike Andover town centre. The old buildings were beautiful. With investment and a nice selection of independent shops, bars and restaurants, Andover could easily be the envy of its neighbours. I think it needs the town council to come up with a sustainable plan that helps small local businesses.
Thanks for watching - more videos next week and let's hope the sun keeps shining. So much nicer filming in warm, DRY weather !

#travel #uktravel #traveluk #vanlife #vanlifeuk #ukvanlife #vanlifediaries #england #ukvanlife #andover #andoverhampshire