HARRY Styles' birthplace now has one of the emptiest high streets in the UK - and it's only expected to get worse.
Wetherspoons bosses suddenly shuttered The Rising Sun in Redditch, Worcestershire, on Sunday.
Regulars have been left feeling bereft after the shock loss of their favourite haunt for cheap beers and friendly chatter.
One pensioner Tony Pickering, who turns 85 next month, told the Sun Online the sudden closure on Sunday was "a crying shame".
He added: "Things will never be the same again. I’ll be lost without it.
"I live on my own with my six cats and the pub was my life line."
It's the latest blow to the town which has suffered from a mass exodus of high street chains.
SHOPS HAVE DISAPPEARED
Just months ago, Redditch - birthplace of global pop icon Harry Styles - was ranked the second worst town in Britain, according to an ONS survey.
On average, Redditch came out with an average score of 7.09 out of ten for life satisfaction, 7.17 for worthwhile, 6.84 for happiness and 3.44 out of ten for anxiety levels.
Three men were found guilty of his murder last March and sentenced to life in prison for the "vicious and unprovoked attack."
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Patricia Duggins, 67, said: “There’s nothing to come into the centre for any more, Slowly and sadly the High Street is disappearing.
“The shops have disappeared, M&S and Debenhams, and if Wilkinsons goes it will be a waste of time coming here."
Her son Matthew, 50, added: "This is the death knell for Redditch.”
Wetherspoons recently announced popular The Rising Sun would be sold off alongside 31 ill-fated boozers across the country.
The chain, which has been hit by soaring rents and spiralling energy costs, vowed it would stay open until a buyer could be found.
But it made a surprising U-turn and decided to close for good this week.
The attractive red-brick building with huge floor to ceiling windows is now shuttered by red railings.
A large sign reads: “For Sale. Leasehold Public House.”
Inside empty tables and the bar are still intact.
Chairs are stacked up waiting to be removed, along with pictures, memorabilia and a darts board.
REDDITCH IS FADING AWAY
A welcoming sign on the side entrance still reads: “The Rising Sun: Food served all day, family dining, lavazza coffee, award winning wines, global beers, world class spirits.”
Charity food bank worker Matthew Duggins, a former rival pub manager himself, said: “This used to be the busiest pub in town. Everyone went there.
"Now Redditch is losing all its features, it's fading away and there’s three pubs left, everything is closing down."
The town’s Lady Mayor Ann Isherwood said her team regularly visited the pub after council meetings.
She added: "It’s right opposite the Town Hall, we'd all go there after council meetings and it had a cosy atmosphere.
“There was no ilk of people, just a cross spectrum."
The Mayor, who ends her year-term next month on the Conservative-controlled council, urged locals not to give up on Redditch.
She said: “It is not a dying town. The world is changing and we have to keep moving. It is a shame the hospitality business is suffering but in that case we should be spending our money in independents.”
The Mayor’s entrepreneur friend Affy Qadeer said: “We were gobsmacked when the pub suddenly closed
“It was a part of the community here. Wetherspoons was among the best companies with the best shares but rates and rents have gone up and they’ve been hit.”
'IT LOOKS LIKE A SLUM'
The businessman, who owns a building housing a thriving independent coffee shop Aroma Coffee bar, said he could understand how the pub giant had been hit by rising bills.
He explained: “The rented the premises and I know from the business in my premises bills utilities bills have been crippling, and electricity alone has risen from £500 a month to £600 a week.”
Eddie Gershon, spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon, has said: "The pub was one of 32 put up for sale by Wetherspoon.
"Wetherspoon, like many other operators in the retail and hospitality sector, open new outlets and sometimes close some.
"The closure of The Rising Sun was a commercial decision made by the company.
"Wetherspoon has probably done more than most companies to rejuvenate the high street by developing its pubs on disused buildings, many of which have previously been empty for years, in some cases, decades."
Wetherspoon closures have been announced since it warned it faced losses of £30 million due to rising staff wages and repairs.
Locals have taken to social media to air their views about the dying town.
One posted: "Most of the town is empty units, it looks like a slum. Besides the little gem that is The Black Tap, the rest of the place is unwelcoming and rife with antisocial behaviour, gangs, and druggies. People will go elsewhere.”
Another wrote: "Redditch town centre has nothing to offer."
"Older generations have nowhere, literally nowhere decent to go. I wouldn't go on a night out anywhere in town anymore."
Another added that Redditch's neighbour Bromsgrove was faring better.
They wrote: "Bromsgrove now has a better night life, gin bars, cocktails and eateries.
"Redditch desperately needs to have some investment, such a shame as it has lots of space and pedestrian areas."
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In March, software worker Ian Kirwan, 53, was stabbed to death outside a local Asda after challenging a group of youths for "messing around".
Meanwhile, in 2020, 22-year-old musician Colton Bryan was murdered at home in front of his girlfriend.
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