Its so sad my grandparents lived in Dewsbury for many many years and my mother grew up there but then moved to London to study to become a midwife, I was then born in London but on a very regular occasion we stayed with our grandparents during school holidays and we loved taking walks around the town centre to the market and all the different shops there were. Its heart breaking to see how neglected it is now.

You are saying Europeans are the problem? I think you will find Dewsbury's problems are because the market is almost 100% Pakistani selling the same cheap garbage that has destroyed many other market towns. Why would an English man use that market? The homogenisation of the market is the death of a market town.

In no particular order, some of the key factors which have hammered towns like Dewsbury: Online shopping and crushingly high business rates killing off traditional high street retail; Collapse of steady reasonably well paid employment; Brain drain with a lot of more well qualified, ambitious younger people leaving for the South (or for Leeds and Manchester); Decades of neglect by central government; Ineffectual local politicians - even though some of them may have their heart in the right place; A more transient, fractured population so less community solidarity making it harder for the town to fight its corner; Death of local newspapers - making it harder to hold those in charge to account; Lack of a proper visible police presence; And most recently the economic disaster inflicted by the Government’s response to the pandemic. Just one of these factors by itself would be bad enough, but put all these together and you get today’s mess. There will be other reasons too of course, but this is just off the top of my head.

couldn't move on market day Dewsbury was packed, there was loads of pubs and nightclubs. we used to walk to Dewsbury from Thornhill, great nights out

Dewsbury town centre has been dying a slow death since the mid nineties. I don't think it's fair to solely blame this all on East Europeans or foreigners; and it's ironic you say this as have a name of Arab origin.

Such a shame to see the demise of a proud town like Dewsbury. I lived there for 42 years (I now live in Batley) and the decline was gradual but dramatic. I sincerely hope things can be turned around as there is no reason to visit the Town Centre any more.

My parents are from Dewsbury born in the late 1930’s.When I was a kid it was such a vibrant place mid to late 60’s it is a tragedy and absolute tragedy.

Thank you for posting. Very sad. Once a proud town.

I feel for you. I'm originally from Mirfield and Dewsbury was the main town. There were department and furniture stores on Daisy Hill. I remember the organial bus station and the building of the Prince's precinct. The market was an enormous pull for shoppers and the cinema was always full. I saw the gradual decline after the cinema closed. Marks and Spencer closed up after the business had to close many stores. The Victorian arcade had a lot of renovation and money spent and that's no longer open. That concrete monster behind the town hall has always been awful. The DSS office used to be in there. I really hope the council can find a way to pull the town back. It's nothing like how it was when I was a kid into my teens.

What's happening to Dewsbury? I lived in Dewsbury as a student 35 years ago. I missed the place a lot and spent countless hours walking from DABTEC to the town centre, there were WHSmith & Boots. You mentioned McDonald's, it was just opened when I was there.

Lived here all my life too its the online shopping 🛍 and now the global pandemic thats fkd my town up but hate when people call it doomsbury and ill always have 💛 for my town 🙃

I used to get the buses and Taxis around 7:15, one for College when i lived further away and the second after Uni when i returned home after learning, as i was living in Staincliff (Thankfully the okay side of it, though someone did attempt to mug me when i got of at the wrong bus stop after working late one night). It was always a shady place was that near the bus station though, confirmed when i saw a gang fight emerge from the takeaways, everyone in the area went running, apart from my dumb ass. Glad i left that area now though i do have bitter sweet memories, lost friends, lost memories etc. Dewsbury Market was always the highlight of my weekend as a kid on the way to see family.

The more you cram an area with unskilled or none workers, this is what happens... Anyone with a bit of class left or money is going to drink, shop, well basically do anything out of town. Shame.

Same as batley ravensthorpe heckmondwike Bradford Burnley's Oldham's Blackburn. What I ask is the common denominator.

Brilliant video. subscribed!

I'm with you on doing something collectively. It's the same sorry state of affairs in Huddersfield.

When Woolworths and Marks and Spencer’s all closed down many years ago saw the sad decline of a once prospering town. Huddersfield should be ashamed to not concentrate on getting the town back to a place like Leeds and Manchester.

Heartbreaking I was born here remember the 60s and 70s won't ever be coming back

Such a shame, I don't recognise Dewsbury anymore. I use to play a lot of street fighter 2 in the arcade, the one up the back street near daisy hill (bin lid) and lucky win near pot black snooker. Do you remember go games? It was where computer exchange was also there was a newsagents next door the owner was called bill. Great days, thanks for the video btw

I lived there during the 70's. It used to be a great place to live and shop, coaches from all over used to bring visitors to the market. It looks like a dying town toiday

The council are only investing in the rich parts of UK not these parts.

after watching this video I feel blessed to have left UK to live out in the Southeast Asia .......💛 💛 💛 love 4rm VIETNAM 💛 💛 💛

Used to be the place for a night out.Nothing to go to Dewsbury for these days Just needs flatting...

I left Dewsbury in 2005, I haven’t been back since. My first job was at that McDonald’s, such a shame to see what the town has become. Thank you for sharing.

Is that really my home town? Was that Daisy Hill in the first few minutes? It's a shame and it's shameful. My forebears must be spinning in their graves but I'm glad that military service took me away and that my own children and grandchildren haven't grown up there. Sorry, Dewsbury, but there it is.

Didnt town centre used to have like a mini fairground? Like I have lived he for nearly 15 years

You didn’t mention the old cinema, but then, you probably didn’t know where it was. I saw Back to the Future 2 there 3 times! Having said that I think my gran said Dewsbury had 2 or 3 cinemas in her day. Dewsbury has been getting worse for at least 44 years. I’m 44 btw

I left Dewsbury in the 90s as I remember it, I don't recall too many closed down shops. As a kid, I worked on the fruit and veg market with Barry Ramsden if I remember his name correctly. I also remember spending many hours in the Pot Black snooker hall. Sadly, Dewsbury is not the only town that is falling by the wayside, heaven knows how many more will deteriorate once Covid has finished with us.

Thank you so much Faraz ~ I have some kind of obsession about Dewsbury, because my great grand parents were born and raised there. I am in the USA and I want to know everything there is about Dewsbury.

Blockbuster? What are you talking about. That used to be the agricultural stores. Daisy Hill used to be posh. Not sure what you expect the council to do but we’ll played for high lighting the issues

It's not far from the Taliban-controlled territory of Savile Town.

I used to come to dewsbury Town since I was a 5 year old kid, used to love going to the market especially on Saturday and Sunday, now this town is a pure shit hole. Don't like coming there anymore, full of smackeds and prostitute parlours.

It's a shame but also very true.

It’s gone to pot. I don’t see what they can do now. McDonald’s going was a death blow, I remember going to birthday parties there as a kid. There is literally nothing to go down town for anymore unless you want drugs or a hooker 🤣

Ah ha! So this is what 'multi-culturalism' looks like.

It seems that people have and continue to flee the town, taking their business and money with them, the reasons are well known. The council can’t do much to stop the rot now. The town now has a bad reputation, so new blood or businesses will not move to the town. With a poorer population, less businesses there will be less money for the council, the money has gone, resulting in less investments and the town deteriorating further.

Hi Faraz.....I’m rewatching your video with great fascination. I completely relate. I live in South Florida, USA but I was born and raised in the state ‘Pennsylvania’ and when I return to my old hometown town, it is completely unrecognizable. I’m hoping I can google around a bit and find a legitimate website of historic significance where I can purchase a picture, or a book. I joined a few ancestry websites and I wish I could see a pic of the home where my great grandparents lived. Is Dewsbury in West Yorkshire?

The saddest part is those grand old buildings never get reinvented, the way they would in other places. There is no cotton industry, it's not coming back, so you have to reinvent a purpose for being. My idea would be to turn Savile town into a cultural centre. Create a new street market, specialising in Asian food and products, music, etc. Pick the widest street in Savile Town. Then redevelop the waterfront on the Calder, the area behind Wickes, on both sides of the river, create a footbridge, an connect to the the canal / Savile Town Marina. People love being by water. You could totally transform this area into a cool place.

The royal king restaurant used to be a night club.

"Europeans" isn't Dewsbury in the UK which is a European country? So why wouldn't it have Europeans? Lol

Looks like Beirut

Worked in Dewsbury in the mid 80s early 90s in Saville Town on Bretton Industrial Estate at a printers called Stanley Press,it was a cracking little town then but the politics of the elected Council reps borders on the criminal as can be seen at the neglect of the town

So sad to see especially Daisy hill.

Ikr it's kinda annoying because there could be way more businesses

All dead..areas..guy with the camera shop, i feel every word you see..its depressing full of closed shops, no big business wants to come to Dewsbury shopping, all my friends with families wouldn't dream of coming to Dewsbury tò shop.. Sports direct, kfc, matalan, bookies n phone shops.. What happened to Woolworths, wh smiths, claires accessories, dixons, mcds, cinema, kwik save, daisy hill was packed with people now its pisshead central, people smoking weed openly, drug dealers everywhere After 6 it all changes tha atmosphere goes dark, young hoodlums in gangs of 20y

Never went into public

Nelson town centre is the same

I stayed in that time for the rest of my life

No we put on evants on

I remember buying mega drive games from toy and game exchange! I remeber it got taken over by some weird guys who liked to keep guns in the windows! They always made me a bit unconfortable.

Things were a lot different

Never left my home

how low do you have to be to go to a brothel 😹 it takes some bravery to admit to yourself you gotta pay or youre getting nothing 😹

Omg I saw my neighbours car 😂😂😂

Yep, Doomsbury town centre is just a dumping ground. I don't think it has any future as a business .. It's gonna be converted to cheap rental accommodation.

Bro I carry a knife for my own protection at night it's that bad

I missed McDonald's 😭

Sadly but every town will become like this eventually

Y

You crying coz theres no pubs?

Dewsbury is not that bad