The once-thriving UK high street that's now abandoned 'pigeon' town of 40 empty shops
Residents of the once-thriving West Midlands market town claim their local high street is now desolate as traders say they take home as little as £60 a day.
A once-bustling high street has become the centre of a “dying shanty town” with "more pigeons than shoppers" as a staggering 40 shops now lay empty. Shopkeepers in Dudley, West Midlands, have revealed they earn as little as £60 a day after witnessing the area become "completely decimated" and businesses closing en masse.
A recent £150,000 market renovation has also been labelled a disaster after the stalls became overrun with pigeons and troublemakers congregating to consume alcohol and create disturbances. Local people remember when Dudley was a thriving market town at the centre of the Black Country, with its 12th-century market, castle and zoo drawing visitors from across the nation. The area has now been ranked the third most undesirable place to live in England for 2025. Grim photographs reveal how the town has become "desolate" in recent times, filled with shuttered and abandoned premises, whilst inhabitants report a surge in antisocial conduct. Alison Wade, who has operated the Cards and Gifts 4 You shop in the town for three decades, recalls her first visit to Dudley as a teenager in 1984.
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She remarked: "When I first came, I thought 'wow, this is lovely', it was all stone, high-street shops, really, really nice. It was still a thriving town. It's gone from being a nice town to getting dirtier and dirtier, and that is down to probably the council. Now, it's like a shanty town."
Resident Harriet Manly, 39, added: "You walk around Dudley and there's more pigeons than shoppers. It has become desolate in recent years.
“The place is dying, and it's really sad to see, as the people of Dudley are amazing. The out-of-town Merry Hill shopping centre opening didn't help back in the 80s - but this is the worst I have seen it."
Chris Bradwick, 62, has operated a stall at the town's historic open-air market for the past five years. He said: "I have watched as Dudley has slowly gone to nothing day by day.
"It hasn't been helped by constant broken promises by the council. They closed and demolished the bus station, the tram system remains unfinished, and there's constant roadworks going on.
"OAPs can't access the town centre, which is just full of college kids, and they aren't going to support local businesses. They have cut off the accessibility of the town - it takes me 45 minutes to do a 10-minute journey home."
The market area transformation was praised by the authority's deputy leader, Cllr Paul Bradley, as a 'boost for business' which he hoped would become a 'central hub and gathering point for visitors'.
However, St Thomas's ward councillor Shaukat Ali said: "I am absolutely gobsmacked by the state of the market, traders are not very happy, the toilets are closed, there are pigeon droppings everywhere, and there is antisocial behaviour; people have had enough."
Resident Jayne Beard declared: "It's unhygienic, completely uninviting, and does real damage to the reputation of our town. It certainly does nothing to help our town and hardworking traders who are trying to earn a living."
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, stated: "The seating area in Dudley Market Place was designed to provide a shared, welcoming space that encourages people to stay longer in the marketplace and supports traders. This usage tends to be seasonal and we see higher use in the warmer months and when there are activities in the town centre.
"We absolutely agree that this needs to be a clean, welcoming space and our cleansing teams will be jet‐washing the area, while longer‐term options to address the issue are actively being considered. We are also progressing a Public Spaces Protection Order for Dudley Town Centre, which would address issues of anti‐social behaviour.
“If approved, the area would be patrolled by council street officers working alongside the police, with enforcement action taken where necessary. We are clear that improving cleanliness, safety and confidence in the market is essential to making it a welcoming place for traders, residents, and visitors."
