Arnold is one of the biggest towns in Nottinghamshire - and as the birthplace of the Luddite worker rebellion as well as the famous Home Brewery, it's got a rich heritage too.
But in more recent years, the town has been subjected to rapid change. Supermarkets like Asda and Sainsbury’s have moved in and on-street parking has been removed to widen the pavement. Some of the town’s independent stores have closed.
For many of Arnold’s residents, this change has not been for the better, so we took to the streets to find out what people who live and work there really think - and what they want to see change.
Vanessa Dalziel, 54, has run Nene’s Flowers on High Street for 13 years. She thinks the changes have hurt businesses.
“I have lived here all my life and it’s not what it used to be.
“As soon as a shop becomes empty, it usually becomes a charity shop - I don’t think people come to the high street just to go to charity shops.
“We’re now the only florist in Arnold and there used to be four. Now we are clinging on by our fingernails.
“There’s so much competition from the supermarkets that it has become a bit of a struggle to trade here.
“When they took away the parking it really affected us, it was bad for all the shops on the high street. I don’t know why they narrowed the road.
“The parking fees were extortionate. It is incredible how many people stopped coming to Arnold when they brought them in.
“However, the two hours of free parking the council brought in has helped a bit.”
In the last six years, millions have been invested Arnold’s town centre.
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Since 2013, £1.55m was spent refurbishing Arnold Leisure Centre, the Bonnington Theatre and Arnold Library.
In March of this year, Gedling Borough Council announced £1.25m in funding to revitalise the town’s dilapidated market area.
The council is also bidding for a £5m grant from the government’s Future High Street Fund to overhaul the town centre and improve access.
Steve Imms, 61, lived in Arnold for 10 years before moving to Calverton. He still brings his grandchildren to the town for swimming lessons and to use the library.
He said: “Unfortunately, like many places, it isn’t lacking for tattoo parlours and vape shops.
Mr Imms thinks the 2009 decision to move Arnold Town FC three miles outside of the town also had an impact on Arnold:
“It’s a great shame, the football club was based in the town centre before it had to move.
“Now, unless you have a car, you can’t go and see them play.”
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By 2015, average attendance at Arnold Town FC had dropped to 53.
Ben Hickingbottom, 30, works in one of the town’s six vape shops. He said: “It’s changed a lot, it’s just full of charity shops.
“There’s nothing left here anymore.
“It’s good if you want second hand clothing, a weekly shop and a bottle of vape liquid.
"Otherwise, you might as well go into Nottingham.”
There are 10 charity shops within 300m of each other on the High Street.
Despite these frustrations, many of the people we spoke to still felt part of the fabric of the historic town.
Arnold and Marion Harris, both 80, have been coming to Arnold’s Methodist church for 50 years. While they have seen all of this change come and go, they felt the sense of community was still there.
Mrs Harris said: “The people in this community look after each other, it’s such a safe and welcoming place.”
Mr Harris fell ill two years ago and was grateful for the help he received. He said: “The greatest thing was the support from the community and the church.
“Arnold has become a much larger area, but it is very difficult to say what has changed about the people of Arnold.”
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