The view of boarded up or empty shop fronts has become synonymous with the UK's malaise in recent years.
Nowhere in south London is this more evident than in Croydon, where a recent visit from the Croydon Guardian revealed more than a dozen empty shop fronts on the High Street alone.
Walking from the top of the High Street, at the junction with George Street, to its conclusion and the start of South End, the Croydon Guardian counted some 14 store fronts that were either boarded up, permanently closed or lying empty behind locked glass doors.
At the top of the High Street, a series of industrial units stood visibly empty next door to each other were and stripped bare behind closed glass fronts, though the scene was brightened in places by some striking and impressive street art.
Just a few metres further on, the entrance to the St George's Walk Shopping Centre was boarded entirely across its High Street entrance.
Uncertainty regarding possible redevelopment plans at the former retail parade reportedly drove some businesses away, while others in the area were quoted as saying it was "like a ghost town".
Heading down hill, a number of larger retailers and pubs remained open just a stone's throw from Croydon Town Hall, where the council effectively declared bankruptcy in autumn last year.
Beyond, overflowing bins and more boarded up shops or those lying bare behind locked doors lined the High Street towards South End.
At the pole of central Croydon is found a more bustling North End, where a number of chain stores remain in business and seemingly busy ahead of the full easing of Covid restrictions on July 19.
Nevertheless a large number of retail units remained empty.
Most glaringly so were the gloomy, vacant spaces underneath the huge and gently crumbling facade of Allders, a former giant of the department store world in south London which closed for good in 2012.
Like many towns across the UK, the economic depression at the centre of one of London's most populous boroughs predates the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus and its economic impact has severely exacerbated the problem.
Research by the Local Data Company found a net total of 4,690 high street chain store outlets permanently closed across Britain in 2020.
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