Empty shops ‘not a cause for concern’ (From Malvern Gazette)
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Empty shops ‘not a cause for concern’
8:16am Friday 22nd March 2013 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed
EMPTY: The premises occupied by Superdrug.
A HIGH number of shops empty or to let in Malvern town centre is no cause for alarm, traders and town leaders insist.
Prime shopfronts in Church Street previously occupied by Superdrug, Blackwell and Bond and Julian Graves all currently stand empty, while “to let”
signs loom large outside Boots, Dorothy Perkins and long-standing independent storeMalvern CountryMeals.
The state ofthe town centre concerned one dismayed shopper so much they contacted the Gazette to say: “It looked really depressing walking down Church Street and seemed like almost every other shop was closed or to let.” But Anna Brook, of Great Malvern Association of Traders, said that was a misconception and insisted the town centre is doing well in difficulttimes.
“People see an empty premises and assume it has gone bust but that is very often not the case,” she said.
“It never looks good to have empty premises but it is natural there is going to be a turnover of shops.
“Our vacancy rate is lower than the national average and our shops are always filled in a very short amount oftime.
“We are bucking the national trend with the health of our town centre and we are inthemiddle of a reallyhorridrecession.
Ms Brook said an as-yet unidentified tenant has been found for Superdrug and that the “to let” sign above Boots is for upper floor offices, with the store itself goingnowhere.
The Gazette contacted Boots and Dorothy Perkins for confirmation but did not receive any response. Malvern Country Meals owner Chrys Titshall said deciding not to renew his lease after almost 20 years was a tough decision.
He believes the town centre remains in good health but the market has changed and left businesses like his behind.
“It is very costly to have a presence on the high street and trade in the centre of Malvern is very different now to when we started,” he said.
“People are not using the town centre for everyday food or necessity shopping anymore.”
Malvern Country Meals will close its store at the end of its lease in September, or with a month’s notice if a tenant is found before. However, it is not the end for the business as Mr Titshall is planning to launch an online delivery service.
Figures from Malvern Hills District Council show the shop vacancy rate at six per cent, lower than the national average of eight per cent.
Deputy leader Paul Swinburn said empty shops are never a welcome sight, but added: “It is common for there to be some vacant premises in a town centre to allow for ‘churn’ and new business entry.”
Comments(16)
Hack
says...
10:50am Fri 22 Mar 13
Malvern centre has never been the most pedestrian friendly environment. That the vacancy rate is two percent under the national average is nothing to be complacent about. Paul Swinburn's comment may bite back if churn turns into burn.
Chrys Titshall is reflecting where shopping is going, on-line.
Malvern has to think outside the box; why would people come into the centre rather than visit the Link retail park? What attraction(s) will make a difference. National names won't come back. Waitrose is a good pulling power, but on its own it won't help Church Street of Belle Vue.
THE FACTS
says...
11:04am Fri 22 Mar 13
Things dont stay still.
Malvern will focus more and more on culture, arts, food and beverage.
No bad thing.
sarah and her chickens
says...
12:25pm Fri 22 Mar 13
BadgerMash
says...
6:02pm Fri 22 Mar 13
sarah and her chickens
says...
7:43pm Fri 22 Mar 13
BadgerMash wrote:Love that badgermash.
Every time this issue has been raised over the last twenty or more years a selection of the usual offenders starts raving about improving matters for local traders by building another supermarket and given how local democracy doesn't work round here, even if there is majority opposition, it goes ahead. I make it four times so far. So, which of those familiar faces will it be in the Gazette this time? Go on, you know you want to - after all it's never worked before, so one more time can't hurt.
I clearly remember building waitrose on the market and big car park was going to boost economic development.
We are still waiting.
Funny how Upton traders are fighting to keep their free car park whilst Great Malvern want to do away with every last bit. Thats why I dont shop in Malvern.
Mr Analysis
says...
10:46pm Sat 23 Mar 13
2) Lack of free parking.
3) The town has a big hill to walk up and down
4) 80% of malvern seams to be charity shops or hair dressers.
The biggest issue for me is parking and lack of quick easy food. Im not a fad sod or nothing but if i take a drive up town the first thing i get put off with is the stupid parking charges when i just want to nip into a shop for 10. This normally means i wont bother stopping ill just go some other place with free parking and less hills to walk up.
It's nice to be able to grab something quick to eat when out also, not much going for the town food wise.
Who wants to spend £1.40 or whatever it is now just to nip into island or get free parking but walk like up and down hills to get to the shop, its just not worth it go retail park or something.
sarah and her chickens
says...
3:24pm Sun 24 Mar 13
However that seems to be failing as the boutique expensive shop(cushion £35 !!!! has just shut).
Main problem I agree is lack of free parking. They put resident parking tickets up dramatically and now want to attract local families back with art events and craft fairs,
Reasonable idea, if they had good cheap parking. They don t .
Karl Hunderson
says...
4:10pm Sun 24 Mar 13
sarah and her chickens
says...
4:55pm Sun 24 Mar 13
Dont know if you have elderly relatives or young kids but it is only a short flat walk to waitrose from waitrose car park.
Possibly wilkinsons too. Other than that it is not short or flat!
Andy-Apache
says...
8:21pm Sun 24 Mar 13
2) Lack of free parking.
3) The town has a big hill to walk up and down
4) 80% of malvern seams to be charity shops or hair dressers."
1) Great! There's lots of cafe's. If you want maccy D's, there's one at the retail park.
2) Use the money you want to spend on fast food to pay for parking - or walk?
3) It's really not a 'big hill' - steer clear of maccy D's?
4) Probably fair enough!
Totally bored of the **** about Malvern being on a hill. Great Malvern has been on a hill for 550 years - prior to this, there was no shops.Wherever you park, it's still on a hill. What's your point?
Mr Analysis
says...
10:18am Tue 26 Mar 13
Retail park / Morrisons / J-mart will get you everything you could get up town but its all on the flat with free parking, fastfood, caff's, more choice. It's a no brainer you just take the easy choice.
Malvern town is doomed and has been since the retail poped up.
Andy-Apache
says...
12:17pm Tue 26 Mar 13
YOU take the easy choice, not me. I don't find Great Malvern particularly taxing. It's not Everest, it's a couple of hundred yards of a not particularly steep hill around the shops. I PREFER the town without the kind of cheap tat sold at J-Mart, and the stink of crappy 'food' sold at McDonalds et-al. It's a nice place to go, and I often walk (shock!) from the Link to Great Malvern just for the hell of it. I'm not even a spring chicken, being just a smidge from 50. This doesn't kill me.
I suppose it is another example of 'the public gets what the public wants' regarding parts of the retail park. It seems a large percentage want poor quality served cheap as long as there's no effort required. When the only choice left is 'cheap crap' please don't moan about the lack of choice. This is apparently what society wants.
sarah and her chickens
says...
3:02pm Tue 26 Mar 13
Give it another 25 years andy and you will fully appreciate how hard it is to shop in Great Malvern trying to juggle awalking stick and a shopping bag and a dosgy knee or hip . Waitrose carpark will seem the length of the hills !
Agree with you on the great cafes !!
Andy-Apache
says...
4:56pm Tue 26 Mar 13
Upton is flat, so, by the same argument, it doesn't really matter that the free carpark is a fair walk from the town. It has no Maccy D's either, which will probably put some people off.
Casmal
says...
6:28pm Sun 31 Mar 13
However, if you struggle to walk it takes longer to get anywhere and you not only need to park in short-term car parks, but you are more likely to run over the first hour and into the more expensive second hour.
The council has lost significant money over the charges that were introduced last September at a time when it is so short of money it is putting up the council tax! By the admission of Ivor Pumfrey, the officer responsible for this area of expenditure, these new changes have solved none of the parking problems. Instead they have introduced new ones: the roads more clogged with people trying to avoid the various increases and fewer people shopping in the town centre.
Di and Gerry says...
9:35am Fri 22 Mar 13