Shoppers have claimed that Britain’s deserted ghost shopping centres would be improved ‘by a zombie apocalypse’.

In the Kent commuter town of Dartford, locals say the town has slipped into a decline since the introduction of the sprawling Bluewater Shopping Centre in 1999. 

Now they say it is in need of life support economically, socially and from a construction point of view.

Complaints have ranged from its crime issues to tearaway youths as well as a deeper issue from its lack of aspiration.

Locals have argued that Temple Hill Square and the High Street, both once bursting with energy, shoppers and retail giants, are now filled with corner shops, a chippy and a cafe.

Miserable looking flats and maisonettes also dominate the square, while the town centre has multiple shops sitting empty.

One local, a fan of the area, describes the square as ‘brutalist architecture’, while another says it is a ‘hellhole’.

Much anger is directed at what the 240-acre Bluewater – the fifth biggest shopping centre in the country – has done to the area and how local politicians and planners have responded.

Shoppers have claimed that Britain’s deserted ghost shopping centres would be improved ‘by a zombie apocalypse’

In the Kent commuter town of Dartford, pictured, locals say the town has slipped into a decline

Michael Preston, 56, said standards in the area had slipped in recent years.

The decorator said: ‘It is just hell. I’m sure there’s rougher areas but it is so depressing. It is appalling.

‘A zombie apocalypse would do the area a favour. It would cheer the place up. It really is that bad. It’s just grey and miserable. I want to move.

‘There’s always stabbings or crime and anti-social behaviour. I have lived here my entire life and it used to be lovely. Now it’s grim.

‘It’s so sad. It was heaving in the 1990s and 2000s. Now it’s empty. You can hear a pin drop across the square and in the town.’

‘Dartford has been home for so long but I just can’t take it anymore. I used to be proud but it has been neglected.’

Dave Willis, 54, said: ‘It’s not what it used to be. It used to be thriving. People would come from all over Kent to come and shop. Now even locals do not bother.

‘It’s empty. It’s just corner shops and nothing really works around here in terms of the shops.

‘The Argos went and that was a massive loss. Nothing has been able to keep up with Bluewater. It’s really bad.’

Retired builder Eddie Hemsley, 66, has lived in Dartford most of his life and said Bluewater had ‘ruined’ the town.

He said: ‘Nobody cares about us. The council has just abandoned us. Bluewater came in and sucked the life out of this town.

Miserable looking flats and maisonettes also dominate the square

The town centre also has multiple shops sitting empty as many are boarded up

Dave Willis, 54, said: ‘It’s not what it used to be. It used to be thriving’

Retired builder Eddie Hemsley, 66, has lived in Dartford most of his life and said Bluewater had ‘ruined’ the town

Cliff Rickman, 62, said: ‘It’s dead. There’s no life. I did not think it would be like this’

Chip shop owner Rajinder Kaur, 56, described the square and town centre as ‘deserted’

Locals say the town is in need of life support economically, socially and from a construction point of view

‘People have just left. Nobody is actually bothered by us. The shops try their best but they don’t offer much.

‘There’s no reason for people to come and visit so you don’t get the footfall. It has been heartbreaking seeing the decline. I used to love it here, now I don’t.’

Cliff Rickman, 62, has only moved into the town in the last few months from nearby Erith.

He said: ‘It’s dead. There’s no life. I did not think it would be like this.’

Chip shop owner Rajinder Kaur, 56, described the square and town centre as ‘deserted’.

She said: ‘It’s like the land where time is forgotten. The shops here are often empty, we’ve been abandoned. It’s terrible. Things used to be so much better.’

Shirley Davies, 82, said Dartford had become a ‘hellhole’.

The retired cleaner said: ‘It was thriving in the 1960s and 70s. Now it’s a hellhole.’

In Waterlooville, Hampshire, rows of boarded-up shops also now line the high street as ’empty’ car parks and an ‘awful’ shopping centre remain.

The town, which has a population of around 64,000, has lost both its ‘lovely little shops’ and bigger stores like Waitrose and Peacocks over the years.

Locals have been left without much choice for clothes shopping, and ‘unattractive’ streets to browse in.

Lee Hathaway, 59, wasn’t having much luck searching for a Chanel perfume for his wife in the town centre when he spoke of the ‘basic’ selection of shops.

‘Visually it’s probably the worst shopping centre I have ever seen,’ he added.

Mr Hathaway moved to Waterlooville with his family seven months ago from Epsom in Surrey, and he said the town’s shopping area is ‘quite run down, to be honest’.

He continued: ‘Nobody drives here. The car park’s normally quite empty when I’ve come, it’s normally during the week.’

Complaints about the town have ranged from its crime issues to tearaway youths

Much anger is directed at what the 240-acre Bluewater – the fifth biggest shopping centre in the country – has done to the area

Another look at the Temple Hill town centre in Dartford, Essex

Pictured: Waterlooville High Street in Hampshire where business once thrived

It is now home to one of the worst-looking shopping centres that its locals have ever seen

Christmas shoppers in Waterlooville where rows of boarded-up shops line the high street

Shoppers in the area have lamented the ’empty’ car parks and ‘awful’ shopping centre

He thinks the centre is filled with local people who are visiting Waterlooville’s shops for one particular item they’re looking for.

The retired IT worker said: ‘I would say it’s local people. They come to the one shop, get it and go. You wouldn’t really browse, I don’t think, these shops.’

Jessica Hathaway, 30, is one of Mr Hathaway’s three daughters, and she thinks that Waterlooville’s shopping centre ‘needs a bit of love’.

‘I remember getting here and thinking ‘Oh my God, where are we moving to’,’ she said.

On what in particular puts her off, she said: ‘I think it’s how it looks.’

The teacher agreed with her father that it’s not a place for browsing, and added ‘I think it’s got the essentials if you had to come here’.

William Owen, 90, has lived in Waterlooville for 54 years, and he thinks that it’s ‘gone downhill’ in that time.

‘It’s awful, isn’t it,’ he said. ‘I’ve lived here for 54 years. It’s gone downhill, really down hill. I go to Havant or Petersfield for my shopping.’

The grandfather now spends over an hour on the bus once a week to go to his nearest butcher’s – he was able to point out the spot where one used to be on Waterlooville’s high street.

Of the time it takes him to get to a butcher’s now, he said: ‘On the bus, if all goes well you can probably do it in an hour and 10, an hour and 15.’

The retired engineer fondly remembers the ‘flower shop’ and ‘fruiters” which also used to feature on the high street.

Locals have been left without much choice for clothes shopping

The town, which has a population of around 64,000, has lost both its ‘lovely little shops’ and bigger stores like Waitrose and Peacocks over the years

Lee Hathaway, 59, said: ‘Visually it’s probably the worst shopping centre I have ever seen’

Patricia Smith, 80, has lived in Waterlooville since 1965, and she remembers the ‘lovely little shops’ which used to line this street

William Owen, 90, has lived in Waterlooville for 54 years, and he thinks that it’s ‘gone downhill’ in that time

Locals have claimed that the streets are ‘unattractive’ while they browse around

Amelia Newton, 71, lives in Southsea, but she visits Waterlooville a few times a year and thinks ‘It’s just been left to, I won’t say die..’.

The retired teacher said: ‘I mean… it’s not the most attractive. It’s not what it used to be, I’ve lived around the area for ages, I used to have friends who lived this way.

On the shops which used to line the streets, she said: ‘They were just more interesting, we had little shops, we had butcher’s, we had this sort of thing.

‘Now we’ve got the big supermarkets and we’ve got the big place with Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx.’

Wellington Retail Park, which has these shops as well as an M&S, is a short walk from the town’s main shopping street.

Waterlooville, located near the South Downs National Park, is said to have its name originated from soldiers returning from nearby Portsmouth after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Many of the soldiers are believed to have settled there.

Patricia Smith, 80, has lived in Waterlooville since 1965, and she remembers the ‘lovely little shops’ which used to line this street.

‘The shops were lovely little shops, all independent shops,’ she said.

The retired secretary also lamented the main shopping street’s pavement, which she thinks will trip elderly people up. You get the elderly, and they trip so easily,’ she said.