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After previously visiting the multicultural Coatsworth Road in Gateshead, I decided to visit another area well known for its diversity.
Westgate Road is just minutes from the city centre, and leads to the West End of Newcastle.
Today, the street is not quite the lively place that it once was, but it does still have some businesses that have been able to adapt and stay afloat during these uncertain times. I picked out a few places to visit, to speak about the changes that the street has undergone in recent years.
After parking up at the top of the street, the first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of businesses that were closed. Although this is the case on a number of high streets in the region, it was still a surprise to see on what was once one of the premier streets in the city.
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Nevertheless, I first visited one of the businesses that was still open, Hunter’s Motorcycles, and had a chat with owner Alan Hunter. Alan spoke to me about the way that he has had to adapt his business into a mainly online service, with physical visitors into the shop a rarity.
“We have been here on Westgate Road since 1982, and in recent years I have seen the sales in the till go down and the online sales go up massively. I decided to start to change things to become more internet focused back in 2008 and it was a gradual change that took a decade to complete,” he said.
“I think a big thing for us is that the average age of a biker is ever-increasing, and a lot of our previous strong base of customers do not use the internet. For this reason, I am still in the shop often and try to accomodate for people as much as I can.
“To be completely honest, in five years I do not expect this street to be anything like it is now and I think it will become an area for students, with accommodation and food places. At the moment, it is still worthwhile to be based here but it may not be too long until the business becomes completely online-focused.”
On my next visit, I went to speak to Martin Stanton who owns Westgate Superbikes across the road. He gave me his thoughts on Westgate Road and how his business was faring.
“The street is definitely not as good as it was, as we get far less visitors than we did in the relatively recent past. Every day feels a bit like Sunday morning when you see the lack of movement and footfall going on outside,” he said.
“On a personal level in the case of my business, I have to rely on my reputation and the fact that I do some specialist work that people will not be able to get done elsewhere. I am lucky to have this customer base that is able to sustain me and the business at the moment.
“I think that we will be lucky if there is anything left here in five years time, as we are hanging on in many ways but that is just the way things are. We used to have a lovely community here so it is a shame to see what has happened.”
Moving on further down the road, I decided to try a different type of business, to see if their experience differed. I visited Salt and Pepper Cafe and spoke to Martha Williams, who helps out in the shop when her mum, the owner, is not there.
“My mum Magda owns the cafe and we have had the business in our family for 25 years. We used to get a lot of bikers in to have something to eat but now the area is full of a lot more students and young people,” she said.
“There have also been some new offices built so people will come here on their lunch break which helps us out. We are doing well in that sense despite a lot of businesses closing, as we have a wide range of customers.
“We are simply a classic traditional cafe, and we remain hopeful that the business can be here for another 25 years, as it is such a special place for our family.”
My final stop was another food place, as I visited Moulin Rouge Cafe and Grill and spoke to the owner Mehran Sayad. Mehran discussed the business that he has had for six years, and how it has fared in recent times.
“I have owned the business for six years and a lot has changed in even just that time. Our busiest days were probably just after we opened but it has definitely died down a little bit since then.
“A lot of businesses did not survive the pandemic but I do think improvements have been made to the area. The police have made it a bit safer and the place is evolving into being a lot more based in the future.
“We are doing ok at the moment, and although it is quiet right now, we are choosing to remain positive and confident that things will turn around in a more permanent way.”
I had mixed emotions when leaving Westgate Road, and I pondered them on my way back from the street. On one hand, it is great to see food businesses doing reasonably well and the change to a more student driven economy seems like a good one overall.
However it is interest-specific businesses like Hunter’s and WSB that suffer as a result of this, with many having already closed and the remaining ones struggling. It was ultimately an incredibly informative trip, which seemed to say a lot about how city suburbs will change in the future.
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