Old town Leamington (South of the river) has a big problem with drunks walking the streets with their cans of strong lager/cider etc. It really isn't very nice to see, especially for the young kids. This isn't helped by the fact that Nisa Metro (formerly Michaels Supermarket) sells cheap booze. You always get these hideous people hanging around outside there. You also get silly little teenagers hanging around outside asking adults going in to buy them "fags" or booze.

Now the old Comet building (where Tiles r Us were as well) has been truned into a booze warehouse, selling cheap booze also. Is there really any need for it down the bottom of town? With Costcutter only round the corner, and Somerfield supermarket just up the road as well, I think not.

The decision to allow this shop to open is ridiculous in my opinion.

Apart from Argos, and the vastly overpriced SonyCentre and House Of Fraser, there is nowhere IN town now that sells electrical goods. For those people without cars, it is becoming increasingly difficult to purchase electrical goods within walking distance of our homes.

The masses of empty shop units in old town leamington are beginning to be filled, but with all the wrong types of business.

A new mobile phone shop has opened up opposite the Jug & Jester where Anglian WIndows used to be. Did we really need a new mobile phone shop? NO!

On Clemens Street, TWO new takeaways (One indian, one a kebab shop) are currently being done out. Do we need any more of these places? NO!

It's getting ridiculous in my opinion. The pointless mobile phone shop apart, everywhere that is opening up seems to be encouraging the wrong type of people to old town.

I haven't been to Leamington old town at night for a long time, but this does seem familier with how I remember the place. I also remember it was very badly lit and quite run down, I don't remember a great police presence down that was either.

I certainly never felt very compfortable down that end of the town. I think a great start would be to impove the lighting.

It is badly lit. Considering the amount of council tax the people of leamington pay, even in old town, I believe ALL streets, alleyways etc should be well lit. There is a serious lack of police presence in old town, apart from the daily event of a police car or two shooting up brunswick street towards whitnash. This occurs every evening.

I work a lot in the area you describe and have to say that I've always found it interesting and a wonderful change (where else can you get two (that's 2) tattoo shops within a hundred yards of each other?) from the more antiseptic upper Parade, although I have to say I enjoy that space too, especially since the remodeling. I like L/Spa and have always thought that it should have been Stratford (if you see what I mean), what with its earthiness, its individual shops, its parks and its cosmopolitan feel. At least there's an atmosphere to Leamington, something that, in my opinion Stratford lost quite a few years ago.

Difficult for me to comment as I don't know the area but if it's anything like this town was it needs a lot of work doing to. It's took years to get the old labour dinosaurs out up here put decent councillors in and get something changed, and still we have one hanging on in town council. He was the main reason I started my site, he controls the owner of the existing town site, a puppet on a string. Hard to tell where one ends and the other starts they are so far up..
Anyway thats what'll be that's done it, years of neglect by power mad councillors, could be of any party there, who think their old ways are the correct way. First you have to get rid of those, then get go getters in that are keen to change what needs changing and have some vision, then the public needs to get involved and volunteer.
Funny because I never really think of any warwickshire towns of having an problems other than here, bedworth and maybe Nuneaton slightly.

I agree it's better than Stratford. I'm not a big fan of Stratford at all really.

I was having a conversation about stratford at the weekend. Whats wrong with the place?

There's nothing wrong with it as such, visitors love the place. It's just, well, a bit boring for locals.

I find it boring, with not a lot to do. The only time I ever go over there is if my wife fancies a trip to Matalan

Great, fantastic, Stratford has the biggest chunk of the counties cash and the residents get bug all out of it. It all goes on tourists.
We haven't got a lot for locals to do because there's not the footfall to support it, we do have the advantage of having good facilities at Nuneaton and excellent facilities at Tamworth. Tamworth is a bit rough though with it's night life and yobs taking advantage of the night life. It needs to seriously sort it out.

Have to agree with that one I have to say. Stratford is far too touristy for my liking.

I think you are less likely to get into any trouble at the bottom of town, I was raised south of the river and people tend to be much more honest and as long as you aren't acting like a chav you will be much safer than north town.

i dont think that you can specifically say that the north is worse than the south there are similar crime patterns both north and south of the town. With the advent of safer neighborhoods areas should seem far more policed than previously see here - Welcome — Warwickshire Police Safer Neighbourhoods.

I dont think Bedworth has that many problems--- people say too many pubs --maybe but there is nowhere else to go. I think the civic hall is wonderful but wasted. A place that size could be used more efficiently, and not just for shows.
When it was built it was to be an all purpose hall for the use of everyone, all day and every day.
The adjoining Arts centre is well used during the day but the whole building need to be open at least on some evenings.

Idigress!!!

Many years ago when I lived in Leamington the bottom of the town was always 'iffy' -with noise and fights and drunks -much worse than it has ever been here in the north of the County------excepting of course the old 'Black Bedd'oth' early in the 20th century - and before that ... when the miners (it was a mining town if you haven't guessed) thought nothing of marching to Coventry on the spur of the moment when the pubs shut,to pick a fight with anyone they could find on the way-" these black faced men marching through Foleshill with shovels" as one account reads. No pit baths in those days!
Makes today seem tame!! but there are no accounts of guns or knives as we see today, just good old shovels--it makes me cringe.

There is nothing wrong with southside anymore. The place has significant investment and renovation in recent years and is well lit, etc. If people think that area is rough, they need a reality and should go to metropolitan areas where you really will get stabbed/mugged/shot for being there!

I agree with "Unregistered" -- sorry, folks, but a few drunks and loud youths don't make Leamington a dangerous place. This old town is haven of peace compared with many other towns and cities in the UK.

There has never been a golden age -- there have always been drunks and loud youths, frequently in greater numbers than now, and frequently nastier than those we have now because they were a lot poorer in a lot less tolerant society.

And on that note, we should all be trying to combat why we have drunks in the first place -- a major social problem throughout the Western world. We shouldn't be simply sweeping them out of sight to make the place more appealing to the rest of us. That's not civilised behaviour either, is it?

I'll get off my soap-box now.