Coln gallery closure: ‘we can’t afford it, business rates are too expensive’

High business rates and rent were blamed as the owner of an independent art shop in Chichester confirmed it would close down later this year.

Owner of the Coln Gallery Bill Banbury said the shop in North Street will close when its lease expires at the beginning of September.

He said: “Obviously we’re very grateful for all the support that [customers] have given us over the years.

We just can’t afford it any more, we’re still opening our other two branches but Chichester is too expensive.

“The business rates are expensive and just the pay and the financial expense, it just doesn’t add up any more.”

He said the Chichester branch had been open for around 15 to 20 years. “We’re sorry to go because it’s a nice shop and we like Chichester and we like our customers but we can’t go on with it and I think a lot of shops are struggling,” he said.

The shop is the latest in a line of closures in Chichester this year, including House of Fraser, and the sudden closures of HMV, computer store Solutions Inc and Crabtree and Eveyln at West Street.

Business rates are set by central government based on the value of a property.

Bill Banbury said he thought the issues with the high street were ‘accelerating’.

“I think what’s happened to us all is when the landlords purchased these premises in the high street and set the going rent, it was all done a long time ago, before the internet, and over the years the rent has gone up and the sales have gone down but because of the internet.

“Everybody else seems to see that but the people who own the premises don’t see that the rents are not realistic, people buy a lot of their purchases on the internet – the council’s are guilty of the same fault, they just won’t take it into account.”

He commended the efforts of his Chichester staff: “They’ve been fantastic, always cheerful and they know all about the products and without them the shop would not have been as good as it is,” he said.

Chichester BID chairman Colin Hicks said: “We are saddened to hear about the forthcoming closure of The Coln Gallery – this independent shop has been a much-loved fixture on the high street for over 15 years.

“We are continuing to work with city centre businesses to support them through these challenging times and have made up-to-date information available to all businesses concerning help with their business rates.”