Read the Room: Why Our High Streets Are Dying and Who's to Blame | Episode Twenty Four
Following last week's raw, difficult episode, Rob is back — still frustrated, still honest, but this time pointing his anger somewhere specific. Businesses are closing around him, and he wants to talk about why.
Knight and Garter — Leicester Loses a Good One Knight and Garter, one of Leicester city centre's last genuinely good independent restaurants (run by award-winning operator Sam Hagar), is closing. Not because of bad management or poor food — but because business rates imposed by Leicester City Council have become unsustainable. On top of VAT, rising food costs, fuel costs, NI increases, minimum wage hikes, and a drop in footfall — the business rates were the final straw.
The High Cross Hypocrisy The same Leicester City Council recently wrote off approximately £3 million in business rate debt accumulated by the High Cross shopping centre. A generic chain-store mall that — by Rob's count — has around 30% of its units vacant. The contrast is stark: independent operators who actually make Leicester worth visiting are being squeezed out, while a largely empty shopping centre gets its debt wiped.
The Big Difference Company Also in the news: the holding company behind the Leicester Comedy Festival has struggled to pay its comedians and has now been locked out of its own venue after falling behind on rent. Rob connects the dots — if people aren't coming into the city centre, venues can't trade, can't pay rent, can't keep the doors open. The ripple effect hits staff, suppliers, local breweries, and everyone downstream.
Simpsons, Birmingham It's not just Leicester. Simpsons — a Michelin-starred restaurant that held its star for 25 consecutive years — has also closed, citing the same unrelenting cost pressures. When businesses of that quality and reputation can't survive, something is seriously broken.
The Bigger Argument Rob's point is simple: you cannot have workers if there are no businesses to employ them. Councils that keep raising rates while letting city centres decay are killing the very ecosystem they depend on. The answer isn't another event in the town square — it's making city centres accessible, attractive, and worth the trip.
A Direct Invitation Rob calls out Sir Peter Soulsby of Leicester City Council by name: come on the podcast. Explain the thinking. If anyone working in local government or high street regeneration is listening, Rob genuinely wants to hear the other side.
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