"This weekend I decided to head out and do some Christmas shopping in Bromley in the Black Friday sales", says reporter Emily Davison.

To say it was busy would be an understatement. 

I have always been the type of person who likes to save money and that often means waiting to start my Christmas shopping until the Black Friday sales in a bid to save the pounds where I can.

In the current cost-of-living crisis, this has become even more important to me and this weekend I decided to brave the shops in Bromley. 

But clearly from the crowds, I wasn’t the only one with this idea. 

I got to Bromley relatively early to secure a parking space and do my shopping before it got too busy. 

If you’re planning on making a shopping trip to Bromley, be aware that one of their lifts which gives you access to the floors and car parks nearest to the old Debenhams is currently out of order.

I joined the queue which had quickly formed to use the one working lift to get downstairs and after waiting at least five minutes we eventually arrived at the ground floor. 

 The amount of people was what really amazed me, although it did give me hope that the local economy would continue to thrive over the festive season and into the new year.

Over the past months I’ve seen more shops closing and more vacant units appearing as a result of soaring costs and a lack of custom. 

So, despite my frustration, I couldn’t help but feel happy to know that my local shopping centre was still getting a good trade over the festive season.

The high street was absolutely heaving with people more preoccupied with shopping rather than looking at who was in front of them and it often felt like I was avoiding crowds rather than walking anywhere. 

Bromley high street always has a busy Christmas market with various food stalls, gift stalls and children’s rides making the normally quiet high street a hive of activity. 

This came as a bit of a culture shock to me as I’m used to the high street normally being less busy than the Glades.

Ironically, I decide to do most of my shopping in Bromley during the festive rush to avoid shopping in central London. 

Being disabled, I find shopping in central London too be one of the most stressful and anxiety inducing experiences and being able to shop locally is a lot more convenient. 

But after this weekend and seeing just how busy it was, it felt almost as if I was shopping in central London just by gaging the busy high street.

I walked down the high street noting the vacant units still lying dormant and waiting for a new tenant to take them on.

The unit that was formerly Topshop still remains empty with a scattering of papers and leaflets lining the floor and I found myself wondering if this abandoned unit will ever be used again. 

In the last year, Bromley has witnessed a number of shop closures both in the Glades and on the high street with shops such as Jessops, Bobbi Brown, Oasis, and most recently Joules shutting their Bromley stores.

Christmas is always a time of reflection for me and as I looked sadly at the old Debenhams now boarded up, it felt like another part of my childhood had disappeared. 

That shop had been there as long as I can remember and it was somewhere I’d always visit at Christmas to shop for gifts. 

Ultimately, I like to shop in local shopping centres like Bromley where I can, because being a former retail worker myself, I know just how much these stores rely on footfall and trade from customers.

With there being so much access to online shopping, I worry that local communities like Bromley will see more shop closures if we don’t support their physical stores and the staff who work there. 

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