Stafford shops closing - Turning into a ghost town?

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Girl at work knows the Manageress at Frankie and Bennys, they have definitely gone.
Yet another empty shop in town.
 

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Girl at work knows the Manageress at Frankie and Bennys, they have definitely gone.
Yet another empty shop in town.
Sucks for the staff involved.

That new centre around the cinema isn't doing great, I hope these empty units aren't destined to be empty forever, like those units around home bargains were.
 

Noah

Well-Known Forumite
Sucks for the staff involved.
That new centre around the cinema isn't doing great, I hope these empty units aren't destined to be empty forever, like those units around home bargains were.

There was a recent planning application to allow some of them to be used as offices, rather than the current restriction to restaurants, bars and the like.
 

cj1

Well-Known Forumite
but there are already loads of empty office space in Stafford and with the current move to home working, I can't see offices being very popular.
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
but there are already loads of empty office space in Stafford and with the current move to home working, I can't see offices being very popular.

Not all of them are any good. The SGI place still isn’t being let because nobody wants it, because the office units are apparently a massive PITA to work with and really awkwardly set out.

Loads of office space has ridiculous business rates on it, because it’s too close to town or whatever. But not close enough to benefit from any town centre incentives
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
I wouldn't say that. Yes it's far smaller than it should be and it should never have been moved from the Shire Hall. There is, however, an awful lot that goes on at the library for people of all ages and it remains an excellent facility.

Yeah, I really love the latest incarnation of the library - it's a much more welcoming space and there feels like a lot of stuff going on in it.
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
I visited that new Library in Birmingham a couple of years ago. WOW ... !!! Utterly incredible !!

I only hope it survives because Libraries in general are on a dodgy wicket these days. (Being cynical, it's because politicians don't like free educational material being available to the plebs.)

I spent a lot of hours in the old Library by the Odeon back in the day doing OU work. That was I'd say too small for the town, but it had one magical thing going for it best observed by this song:

 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I spent a lot of hours in the old Library by the Odeon back in the day doing OU work. That was I'd say too small for the town, but it had one magical thing going for it best observed by this song:

But, back then, the town also had the County Library.

And a few branch libraries.
 
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