Fears for Spalding town centre as more stores look set to close
Spalding town centre is set to shrink further after a pharmacy confirmed plans to shut its main store, while two fashion retailers are having closing down sales.
Lloyds Pharmacy is closing its Market Place store on January 8, 2021, and will solely from its outlet inside Sainsbury's, Holland Market.
It is not yet known how many jobs may be affected but a Lloyds' spokesman said the store was "not financially viable".
"We don’t take the decision to close any pharmacy lightly, but the world of healthcare and patient behaviour is changing and market conditions have been challenging for some time now," the spokesman said.
"We are sorry to have to close this store but it is not financially viable for us to keep it open any longer.
"We will also be supporting our colleagues at this difficult time and redeploying members of the team where possible to other roles in the business where suitable vacancies exist."
Meanwhile, "closing down sale" signs are up at Bon Marche and Peacocks, in Bridge Street and Market Place respectively.
Parent company, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) filed "a notice of intention to appoint administrators" to try and safeguard its future from the effects of lockdown.
However, Bon Marche, owned by a subsidiary of EWM but not part of the process, Peacocks and EWM's outlet at Baytree Garden Centre, Weston, all continue to trade normally.
An EWM spokesman said: "EWM has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators and this puts the business in a protective barrier.
"However, what's been happening on the high street has been very detrimental to the way the group operates and our priority is securing the survival of our businesses and saving as many jobs as possible.
"We are working hard to be fair to our staff and all our partners, but the pandemic and the lockdown have forced EWM Group, like many retailers, into a difficult position."
A spokesman for business restructuring firm FRP Advisory, who EWM are thought to have approached with a view to acting as its administrators, said: "Our team is working with the directors of a number of the EWM Group subsidiaries to explore all options for the future of its retail brands Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Jaeger, Ponden Mill, and Peacocks."
Darren Sutton, chairman of the Spalding Town Retailers' Association, said: "It is disappointing to hear that Lloyds Pharmacy will be closing in the new year as the town has already lost Tui, Beales and Clinton Cards within the last few months.
"It is also disappointing that Peacocks and Bon Marche are under threat of closing but, hopefully, these can be rescued.
"It has been a horrendous year for retailers, with large and small business closing, and whilst the country is dealing with coronavirus this will not improve for some time.
"With the run-up to Christmas, it is more important than ever to support local businesses which need footfall to survive.
"Spalding town centre will have to adapt and change to meet these challenges, working with the council and landlords to ensure that shops and other buildings are open again for customers to shop in the town.
"Hopefully, the council's town improvement scheme will see some changes to our town."
Alistair Main, Spalding and district area assembly member for the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It is sad to see more stores in Spalding potentially closing.
"In the case of Peacocks and Bon Marche, we know that the parent company is struggling and, therefore, this is unfortunately no surprise.
" National retail chains are reviewing their shop estate in an effort to cut costs following a horrendous year for their businesses, with figures released last week showing that between January and June this year, the UK high street as a whole has lost a net 6,000 shops, double the average retail loss in the last four years.
"This is by no means a problem just being seen in Spalding as high street retail has been a struggling sector for a while and 2020 has been the final straw in many cases, with people staying away from the high street and shops carrying significant overhead of high rent and rates.
"However, Spalding has a number of strong and successful independent businesses in the town centre and this has to be the future for the town.
"Town high streets are never going to see the return of the national retailers so a different approach must be taken.
"For a high street to be successful, we are going to need entrepreneurial businesses bringing something new to the town, working with landlords who are realistic in the return they can expect and with the council to encourage new business, with a sensible approach to rates and to attracting footfall into the town centre.
"Above all though the town needs its residents to come and shop at our local businesses as we can all complain about empty shops but we are the only ones who can do something about it."
