Wednesday, 11am: News editor Nigel Chapman has his say on shopping in Spalding....but is he right?
NO doubt about it, Spalding town centre is becoming a less attractive place to shop in.
Just how many opticians (there were six at the last count) or charity shops (at least ten) do we need?
Spalding is well served for banks and building societ
ies and, with William Hill to open shortly, bookies' shops. Oh, and you won't go short of a place for a coffee too – but even the need for a coffee break is diminishing with the time it now takes to cover the remaining quality shops.
Another national chain store goes this weekend when Birthdays closes – extinguishing another of the town centre's highlights.
Birthdays was put into administration by its parent company Clinton Cards last year. And given that there is a Clinton Cards store virtually next door it's no surprise that Birthdays' Hall Place shop is one of the many to have bitten the dust.
I've always thought that greetings cards are like funerals – never a shortage of business. At least the remaining card retailers in Spalding are going to enjoy a greater market share now.
Almost as bad as losing another big name is the prospect of another empty shop for town centre visitors to have to troop by.
Birthdays is among a stretch of retail units which once included Woolworths, Drydens Jewellers, Harwayes and Currys. Unfortunately three of those four units are still sitting empty, Currys having been rebuilt into a much more attractive shop frontage. But a year on, it too has failed to attract an occupier.
A survey that landed in our office six weeks ago claimed that Spalding town centre had more shops than it had this time last year. Really? Because it seems like more have shut than opened.
In my opinion, there has to be a reversal of the dumbing down of Spalding town centre.
So news of sites for a potential shopping centre to attract big-name retailers and the creation of a new chamber of trade could not have come at a better time. I really do hope they make a difference and give the place a lift.
Right now we're clinging to certain retailers, hoping they are not the next to shut up shop for good. If we were to lose Boots, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, New Look or Westgate House, it would be another devastating blow.
So it's great to see Spalding family businesses like Hills and T Law and Sons placing their confidence in the future of the town by investing heavily in revamps of their premises. And no assessment of the town centre's finer shops can pass by without mention of Bookmark. Now there IS a place worth whiling away a couple of hours followed by coffee.
I've stressed town centre throughout this article because I'm not including Springfields in the debate. It too has had its fair share of shop closures, but I know a couple who quite frequently come from Lincoln for a pair of shoes or item of clothing which they could easily pick up in their home city.
And, sadly, no amount of signage or transport links will change the outlook - they will probably never venture into the town centre. Unless they want a new pair of spectacles or to place a bet.
Do you agree with Nigel? Email nigel.chapman@jpress.co.uk
