Flowers Everywhere at St.Austell White River Place.

I had to go into St.Austell this morning so I snapped a few quick photos of the White River Place - a newer part of the town. It was opened in 2009 and is a complete contrast to the old traditional Fore Street shops - where the lovely church and the old Market House reside.

It would appear that this newer part of the town hasn't quite realised its ambitions though - as it is up for sale for £10 million!

It's easy to see why some shops are empty in St.Austell. The photos were taken at about 10.45 a.m. but there were very few people about.

It's a shame as St.Austell has the largest population in Cornwall, but many people prefer to travel to Truro if they want to 'go shopping'.

Even the escalator, which takes visitors to different levels of the complex is quiet.

The town is trying to attract people - just look at all of the impressive flower displays in the photos - and everything is neat, tidy and presentable.

Of course many towns in the UK are struggling and shops are closing everywhere. The main reasons for this seems to be (1) the Internet of course and (2) Big Supermarkets who sell everything and not just food. There are four well known supermarkets in the St.Austell area: ASDA, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi - and they all have, of course, free parking.

If you want to shop or have a meal, however, in St.Austell you'll have to pay to park your car. For example, in the official Priory Car Park the fee is £4.80 for up to 4 hours. Parking should now surely be free - in all towns - at the very least for a couple of hours.

There are some positive glimpses in St. Austell like, for instance, the recent new shop Baker's Toms - hope it will be a great success.

P.S. If you want to visit St.Austell try parking free in the Poundstretcher car park, East Hill PL25 4TR. Important though to check the rules and regulations sign to see how long you can stay.  From here it's only a short walk to St.Austell town. Only applies when the store is open.