Will 2024 bring the shoppers Victoria Street needs to make the pain worth it?
For 18 months businesses on Victoria Street struggled as the once busy thoroughfare was dug up and became a no-go zone for shoppers.
For those businesses which survived the construction work needed to pedestrianise one of Wolverhampton's most recognisable shopping streets they are hoping the pain was worth it.
The new look public realm in the west of the city centre has been heralded as perfect for events and this summer a brand new Box Space Entertainment Centre will open, hopefully attracting more people willing to spend their hard earned cash.
However, clothes shop La Monde, which was a mainstay of the city centre for nearly 30 years, will not be part of the new dawn. The fashion outlet closed last March after its owner Jason Ody shut up shop due footfall plummeting during the work.
Mr Ody said: "We had just come out of the pandemic and the council forced this work on us. We had absolutely no choice in it and it has completely destroyed our business."
At least eight major shops closed down since Wolverhampton City Council's £15.7m pedestrianisation scheme began in January 2022.
The latest is independent record shop owner Ian Davies who closed Stay Loose Records, in Farmers Fold, off Victoria Street, on Saturday, December 23.
The DJ blamed post-Covid shopping habits, the Victoria Street scheme and the removal of nearby bus stops.
