Stafford shops closing - Turning into a ghost town?

gilbert grape

Well-Known Forumite
You know it's bad when....

Katharine House Hospice, Stafford
4h
·
We are extremely sorry to announce that due to the financial impact of the pandemic four of our shops will be closing soon.
Our Stone and Littleworth shops will be closing in October.
Stone - closes Saturday 3 October - closing down sale now on
Littleworth - closing down sale begins Monday 12 October - shop closes on Saturday 17 October.
Cannock Market Place and Norton Canes closures are to be confirmed.
We would like to pay tribute to all our staff who have worked supremely hard during this difficult period. A huge thank you also goes out to all our customers, supporters and volunteers for such valued support over the years.
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/savekhhospice...
 

The Notorious A.N.T.

Well-Known Forumite
Heard a radio ad for it at Trentham a few days ago, did wonder.
Yes, MM's website indicates that it is at Trentham to November. No mention of Stafford at all on there now so I don't envisage it coming back to town anytime soon. Shame really, I thought a lot of the vendors (those that do food items anyway) did OK out of it.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Yes, MM's website indicates that it is at Trentham to November. No mention of Stafford at all on there now so I don't envisage it coming back to town anytime soon. Shame really, I thought a lot of the vendors (those that do food items anyway) did OK out of it.
I guess Trentham gives them somewhere away from the normal town population for covid reasons, and an illusion of being more upmarket? Although it also loses them footfall, and I'd be surprised if Trentham don't charge them more. Maybe they can charge more in return?

Whatever the case, it seems we've lost them for now.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
I wonder if there's a bit of a cycle to them, they start up somewhere, lots of interest to start with but as time goes on you either see the same stalls selling this you don't need, or producers go off to other markets and gradually footfall and takings drop. They are a lovely idea but I always saw a lot of browsing and not so much buying. The layout for them at trentham looks like it will give people a lot more space and people in the mindset of gift hunting / buying a nice treat that people aren't necessarily looking for when they shop in Stafford.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Yes, MM's website indicates that it is at Trentham to November. No mention of Stafford at all on there now so I don't envisage it coming back to town anytime soon. Shame really, I thought a lot of the vendors (those that do food items anyway) did OK out of it.
Same, I loved the stall that sold samosas, often I went into town especially to buy them, which then encouraged me into other shops and stalls while I was there.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
Why isn't Gareth here telling us what a great job the council is doing of regenerating this hopeless town? I get the Covid thing but this decline far predates that. I wonder if there will be any shops left in the actual town centre in just 2 or 3 years the rate we are losing them :(
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Why isn't Gareth here telling us what a great job the council is doing of regenerating this hopeless town? I get the Covid thing but this decline far predates that. I wonder if there will be any shops left in the actual town centre in just 2 or 3 years the rate we are losing them :(
@Gareth was "last seen" on the Forum on July the 4th.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite

Me too, I can fully endorse their click and collect service, although I suspect the fact you collect from Asda doesn't help them in that regard. The majority of my current work wardrobe is from them (they do the least problematic tops for the larger busted ladies) but I think the shop in town is too small to have many of the more useful ranges.
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Why isn't Gareth here telling us what a great job the council is doing of regenerating this hopeless town? I get the Covid thing but this decline far predates that. I wonder if there will be any shops left in the actual town centre in just 2 or 3 years the rate we are losing them :(

I suspect there will be very few actual shops anywhere in the next 2 or 3 years.

One thing we have sadly "discovered" due to Covid is we don't need to step outside for anything anymore.

The world will come to us with whatever we want to order online so what's the point of going out?

I say the above with a slightly sarcastic tongue but I fear it isn't far off what will be happening very soon.

PS I'm not trying to make excuses for Gareth wherever he or she is at the moment, "they" are more than capable of making up their own excuses at will :)
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Me too, I can fully endorse their click and collect service, although I suspect the fact you collect from Asda doesn't help them in that regard. The majority of my current work wardrobe is from them (they do the least problematic tops for the larger busted ladies) but I think the shop in town is too small to have many of the more useful ranges.
Same, I usually end up ordering online and having the goods delivered. It's a massive shame for the staff there though, they're lovely and have gone out of the way to help me find things in the past.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
The world will come to us with whatever we want to order online so what's the point of going out?

I say the above with a slightly sarcastic tongue but I fear it isn't far off what will be happening very soon.

Shamefully I did this very thing today, the child needs jumpers for school, she's going out with friends & I'm going out somewhere else. No one wants to trudge round shops in the rain, it's much easier to get her to pick what she wants online, and have it delivered tomorrow when I know someone will be in.
 
Top