They can if they buy the vapes on the cheap from China as there's little to no regulation on them.
Given the type of product and the people who use them, they're not waiting for next day delivery for a nicotine fix.
Number of barbershops in Britain increases by 500% in 10 years
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
Given the type of product and the people who use them, they're not waiting for next day delivery for a nicotine fix.
I’ve enjoyed the bookies all my life. But they do a lot of damage I get that.
Also, the idea that the younger generation is healthier is mad. They are (through no fault of their own) being driven insane by algorithms.
Also, the idea that the younger generation is healthier is mad. They are (through no fault of their own) being driven insane by algorithms.
And yet there's a distinct lack of barbershop quartets.
Don’t you think it’s been obvious? Serious question?
Add in the sweet shops etc etc.
Why has it not been looked into? Apathy and a country in mass decline that doesn’t even do the basics. You tell me?
No one is saying every barber shop is a money laundering operation. We do need to get our hair cut.
Healthier in that they exercise regularly and don't drink as much. The damage done to mental health by social media is of course a big problem.
Apologies but this is a very naive take.
Gambling is one of the most regulated industries in the country.
Every high street bookie is regulated.
As we are seeing from the poorly thought out online tax rise from 21% to 40% earlier on this year, making gambling unattractive moves people to unlicensed black market operators. Banning it will do the same.
Gambling with black market companies gives you 0 protection over your funds, 0 safer gambling protection and if you win a huge slot jackpot they’ll just refuse to pay you. You have no recourse unless you think a lawsuit in Lagos will get you anywhere. Plus these companies pay no tax to UK govt as they aren’t regulated.
People will gamble, just as they will drink, smoke and do other stuff that can be harmful if done to excess.
Banning it will never work.
What's been obvious in my town and others like it, is that loads of high street shops, independent ones and older chains like Woolworths went out of business, others pulled out and reduced their branches, focussing on the bigger cities. Banks closed thousands of branches all over the country.
So towns like mine had loads of empty units. Eventually the rents on those units reduced as demand declined. And the only viable businesses were charity shops, discount shops selling bulk foods close to their sell by dates, barbers and vape shops, which basically replicated the old tobacconists shops that were all over the place throughout most of the 20th century without anyone suspecting them of being a front for anything.
The question is, if they are all obvious criminal enterprises, and we can all see that, why aren't the police busting them? Or the councils evicting them? Could it be that mass suspicion isn't actually backed by any evidence?
Ah booooosh.
The ones where I live have been there years though. How often do they have to pay business rates, is it yearly?
We all have the same 24 hours
Could be the same "business" but different ltd company, yeah yearly same as council tax
We’ve seen some of these small campaigns, but the issue is endemic.
Not the Great Britain I grew up in! More like mediocre Britain nowadays
I am putting together my ante-post selections for the upcoming season today inspired by this thread.
It sometimes feels like we have no other solutions than to just ban things.
Do you understand my point though? Your suspicion could be correct, and the millions of other people who've been led to believe the same things through whatever channels suggest these things to them could be correct too.
But also, your suspicions could just be totally unfounded. It's reminding me of the old 'benefits cheats/scroungers' lines that certain newspapers liked to bang on about, which meant everyone on benefits became a suspect.
Obviously some people cheat and claim things they're not entitled to. And some businesses will be fronts for criminals. But the idea that most of them are is daft.
Councils can only evict if they're the commercial landlord of the property. Very often in these discussions I see, primarily on social media, really overstate the current powers that councils have on matters like this. The most control councils will have will be regarding planning (typically signage) or use case changes which requires a council review to approve a use case change.
The changing of the habits is probably the most impactful change as spend diverts away from High Streets, to out of town shopping centres or online. Increased costs levied by government is a bit of a poor catch all term. There's cost base changes on employment, which given lower demand exacerbates the issue. Which is separate to a discussion on why the High Street fundamentally isn't working.
In terms of things like rates, they've risen by about 10% or so over the last 20 years. The problem largely on rates is down to the property market, the natural increase in property price over time has meant the rateable value has made business rates a challenge. Ironic considering those who have benefitted the most on domestic house pricing are usually the most vocal when they want a return to a nostalgic High Street where there's a butcher, baker and candlestick maker.
The wider challenge is you've got private landlords currently land banking on High Streets, waiting for CPO's from local authorities tasked to transform High Streets into a mixed use area of commercial and residential. That's probably the most important subject that isn't being spoken about.
I recently met a bloke who told me he was a data scientist for a company which had set up an algorithm for football betting. As gambling is tax free and they were technically 'consultants' they could work around tax and the like.
Proper gassing about it and I just sat there thinking 'you're a cock'.
Proper gassing about it and I just sat there thinking 'you're a cock'.
Jesus christ.
Can is doing serious heavy lifting there! Unless bookies have changed tremendously since the 80’s-00’s where there was more collective woe and stress in them than happiness!
This how you know they're not real businesses.
The Barber shops are tied to to the Kurdish gangs who are running the boats of immigrants across the channel ( and the rest of Europe ). They have started getting hit, not for the obvious money laundering but for modern slavery by the police. There's a new tactic now to open them up in smaller villages rather than busy towns.
No need to ask, it is. I've spent the last year working with a software company that automates the data analysis so they can actually start charging them. The biggest problem the police have is the network is vast and constantly changing it takes about 30 data analysts 6 months to gather the evidence to charge them by which time once the first proceedings begin they quickly close down the operation and move on, new aliases and companies made. The analysts then have to start again and that's just for one shop. The only time they don't need to is when they suspect slaves being held and they can raid. It's also the sweet shops, vape shops and even many corner shops involved. It a network covering Devon to Aberdeenshire. They know the main players and their relations to the criminal gangs. The gangs though know how to play the system. Without the software that does the work the 30 data analyst do in hours there's a real problem of reigning it in.
My town (approx 50000 residents) used to have 2 mens barbers when I was growing up, must be at least 10 now.
Me and the missus drove down one road the other week and counted about 15 barbers and 20 hairdressers/beauty places. Most were either closed or open but empty.
Need to crack down on the money laundering.
The only annoying thing is, this issue is jumped on by right wingers because a lot of these are Asian-owned businesses.
Need to crack down on the money laundering.
The only annoying thing is, this issue is jumped on by right wingers because a lot of these are Asian-owned businesses.
The software is only mopping up after the water has spilled though. If they're going to truly do something about it then they need to tighten up Companies House and make commercial landlords as truly accountable as banks are with customers when it comes to signing up a new tenant through their regulatory checks.
I think we need to be realistic about high streets. If they can be reconfigured to providing housing. Surely that’s a good thing?
We can say this about almost anything.
no one has said they are all fronts.
I do think it’s really easy to determine what are legitimate businesses or not. There should not be any question.
Agreed it's a good thing. It's happening in my local town and it's the right play for most tired town centres now. Most complain that they need footfall in order to attract retail businesses and residential will provide ready made footfall. The challenge with most ideas like this is you get the nimbyism/nostalgia merchants who believe a town centre should just be made of retail business. The reality is that a combination of retail, F&B and residential will be the future and realistic High Street model and planning regulations need to be flexible to support and approve these types of applications quicker.
The challenge is the private commercial landlords who are land banking. There's no incentive other than a business rates increase or potentially councils invoking High Street Rental Auctions for keeping units vacant but that's on a calendar year period.
I do imagine that's the case but surely something has to give first because I can't imagine city centres are great places to live for the cost
*outside of your 20s
Last edited:
My local town will break ground on it the mixed used model in about 2-3 years, so I think the proposition of that will appeal to a lot of cohorts (people looking to get on the ladder, those looking to downsize). City centres/towns are all in need to renovate so focusing on brownfield sites ahead of greenbelt is a sensible move to get some form of house building going.
Agree completely.
I can't remember the last time I went to the high street just to buy something. Most people prefer shopping online or at big retail outlets. The best way to '"save the Highstreet" would be to condense down the number of shops and build more houses, or entertainment venue's. The remaing shops benefit from the extra footfall.
I don't mind betting on football
It's the horse and dog racing industries that I detest and they only exist to bet on them
The ones near me are depressing as feck to peer into.
There's a barber in my town that never has a soul in it anytime I walk past and my town wouldn't be exactly cheap to rent a premises
No idea how they survive
Would they not stand out more in a small village rather than a big town/city?
Locals would be more wary/nosey of who is coming into their little town.