WALKING down Old Northam Road today, the street gives off few signs of its thriving, bustling past.

At points, the odd smart-looking shop can still be seen, holding its own in a sea of boarded-up windows and tatty, vacant front doors.

More than half of the premises in the street are now empty and fast declining into a state of neglect.

But it certainly wasn’t always like this – this is the road that in Victorian times was one of the main streets of Southampton, stretching from New Road right the way to the Northam Bridge.

And despite being bombed during the Second World War, it enjoyed a renaissance in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, as it became the city’s “antiques quarter”.

At its high-point, it had 45 shops selling collectibles and second-hand goods.

Tourists from the ships and Hollywood stars – including Frank Sinatra – flocked to the street to hunt out bargains and memorabilia before heading on to London.

Peter Boyd-Smith, who has run ship and aviation antique shop Cobwebs in Old Northam Road since 1975, says the atmosphere was electric.

He said: “I started my shop in 1975 and it was the first shop that had become vacant in ten years, because there were that many people down here.

“The only thing I can compare it to is The Lanes in Brighton or Portobello Road in London, as it was. It really was thriving – the atmosphere was fantastic.”

There’s a long string of reasons for the road’s decline. Traders say the market for second-hand goods took a hit when car boot sales became popular in the 1980s.

In 1988, the new dual carriageway and Six Dials interchange was built, leaving Old Northam Road cut off from the rest of the city.

A regeneration programme in the early 2000s also seemed to run out of steam and money, leaving a row of immaculately restored shops on one side of the road, facing an empty patch of land where a large antique centre was planned but never completed.

As the road became more neglected, shopkeepers saw less and less of the vital custom from cruise ships, and the street was left off city tours.

Southampton Itchen MP John Denham, who is backing calls to regenerate the area, said: “When the original Six Dials Road was built, Northam Road was left as a bit of an isolated street.

“Not enough was done to think about the future of Northam Road at that point.

“Going back 15 years or more, Northam and St Mary’s were included in the Single Regeneration Programme.

“That was a big opportunity and it hasn’t delivered everything that it should have done.

“In other parts, including St Mary’s Street, most properties have been done up.

“In Northam Road, it’s a bit of a pepperpot – there are some attractive shops, but they’re side by side with some neglected sites and buildings.”

However, there may still be hope for the street’s remaining traders.

Most of the empty premises are owned by one landlord, Grays Developments Ltd, who are now promising to invest millions of pounds into restoring the shops and attracting new businesses.

Grays’ estate manager Ian Bennett said: “Old Northam Road possesses some of the last complete terraces of Victorian shops in the city and it would be a tragedy for these to be lost.

“We have made a significant investment in securing the majority of the properties that we believe may have been lost to demolition and we plan to invest several million pounds restoring these.

“We have spent some considerable time forging a robust relationship with Southampton City Council, which is essential to the success of any scheme.

“While some people may be frustrated with the pace of things, the behind-the-scenes work is essential.

“Now that that is nearing completion we will be looking for local people to contact us with regards to launching new or existing businesses in the road.”

Southampton City Council also says that a regeneration plan is in the pipeline.

Council leader Royston Smith said: “We are currently in talks with Grays Developments in order to agree an investment plan, which would result in the improvement of many of their properties and greatly improve the street and its trading potential.

“It is hoped that agreement can be reach in the next couple of months, with work anticipated to start in October.”

But traders in the street say plans like this have been made before.

Chairman of St Mary’s Traders Association, Androulla Andreou, whose parents own the T Bone Spaghetti House in Old Northam Road, says the street has been neglected for so long that it is hard to see a future.

She said: “The trouble is we have heard this before. It’s hard to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“Many of the shops have been empty for 12 years.

“Why haven’t they been let before? I think I’ll believe it when I see it.”