ONCE a celebrity-packed hotspot, residents have now described their home as a ghost town with just one shoe shop.
Tourists used to flock there but the town is now unrecognisable following the pandemic.
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Brentwood, which is close to London and the M25, has become less attractive to visitors post-pandemic, leading residents to describe the town as 'dead'.
Emma Louise-Brookes, who runs The Dressing Room Brentwood, a boutique bikini shop, has explained that the high street has been hit hard by the pandemic.
She has noticed severe drops in footfall as rising rent and rates leave numerous shops vacant reported Essex Live.
She said: "Footfall has dropped dramatically, no one is coming to Brentwood, and small independent shops like mine are really struggling."
Local resident Simon Cross agrees that Brentwood's decline has seen an increase since COVID-19 struck.
He explained: "Brentwood is still a pleasant place to live, but it's missing the vibrancy it once had."
Simon added that Brentwood used to be bustling due to the fame brought by The Only Way is Essex.
He said: "Tourists used to flock here, and the High Street was thriving! But now, that buzz is gone."
Sangita Patel, owner of Newstime newsagents with husband Prajay since 2010, says Brentwood became a ghost town when Towie fans stopped coming.
Agreeing with those thoughts, Gene Gravell noted that Brentwood remains a lovely town but it has lost much of its commercial diversity, which she misses.
Our posh village is now ghost town strewn with empty homes
She explained: "We've only got one shoe shop, and all the quirky independent shops are gone.
"I think six businesses opened in the High Street in the past six months, but they were all restaurants, and I don't think we need more eateries - we need more diverse shops."
In a public Facebook group other residents echoed these concerns when a new café recently announced its opening.
One poster said: "No more cafes. We need shops to help the residents and visitors."
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Another remarked: "How about some clothes shops. Brentwood high street used to be lovely."
While a third added: "What about shoe's and clothes??? No more bloody food places."
One resident is concerned about the town's increasing population due to ongoing housing developments.
She explained: "When I first arrived, there was a lot of greenery, but now, a lot of the green land is being sold off for houses, so I think Brentwood is becoming overpopulated."
Other residents had concerns about safety issues which they believed were on the rise in the town.
Simon shared: "It doesn't feel as safe as it once did, but I still live here because the location is ideal for commuting to London."
Hasan Ellis said: "I've only been here a year, and I was jumped by two boys just outside a pub, two weeks ago."
However, Brentwood remains a good choice for community living among other residents.
Angel Fofana explained the local diversity and friendliness was important and said: "The diversity and friendliness of the people make this a wonderful place to live.
"I love the culture here, and the peaceful atmosphere makes it a great place to raise children."
Agreeing, Kate Goddard said: "We could use more shops, but overall, it's a nice, safe area, and everyone here is very friendly."
In June 2023, Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone businesses voted to create a unique Business Improvement District (BID) that secured a significant £2m to be spent on improving High Streets over a five-year term.
The Brentwood Connected BID was the first in the UK to incorporate three high streets in one Business Improvement District.
Brentwood Borough council supported this with free Sunday parking and discounted parking all week in the multi-storey car park.
They are also beginning a programme of audit and investment into community infrastructure such as street signs, benches and bins to enhance our High Streets and the entire local community.
The Sun has contacted Brentwood Borough Council for any response.
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