City centre has so much going for it – ask the independents...
OFF, BUT THAT IS NO REASON NOT TO HEAD INTO TOWN
INDEPENDENT businesses have praised the uniqueness of the city and its vibrant atmosphere after the news that M&S in Gallowtree Gate is set to close.
Marks & Spencer cited changing shopping habits as the reason for the store’s proposed closure.
The Mercury went to Silver Street to ask traders what they believed the city had to offer shoppers – and what improvements they would like to see.
Peter Gardner, 43, owner of Cocoa Amore, said Leicester had “so much going for it”.
“There are pros and cons where you live everywhere,” he said.
“There are a lot of businesses here that are pretty special and people ought to come and try them.
“We have such a problem in Leicestershire of not shouting up the good and whining about the bad.
“The positives outshout the negatives.
“If you speak to some of these coastal towns which have lost everything and are desolate – business owners are campaigning just to get a bank on the high street.
“Here we have access to banks and help from BID (Business Improvement District).
“We are so spoilt in how multicultural we are.
“We have to go out, try things and take a chance.”
Peter said Leicester was unusual city because it was “like four or five town centres in one”.
He said: “It’s incredibly multicultural. You have a real set of independent shops.
“At St Martins Square, they have done a real good job with nice food and drink offers. They are happy to invest in it.
“I’ve never wanted to run a business anywhere else.
“Leicester is my city. I want to build a business that Leicester can be proud of.
“I want to be ethical and sustainable on our pricing and keep our prices affordable and for good value.
“I don’t want to be in business anywhere else other than Leicester.”
He said it was sad M&S was set to close “but at the same time, it sells a lot of chocolate; those customers have to go somewhere”.
Asked what he thought needed to be done to make Leicester city centre more attractive, Peter said he believed the police needed more powers and funding to help reassure shoppers.
He said: “That comes back to the central government, not local governments.
“We have had problems with rough sleeping and fires on the back step of the shop which devastated us. It’s not going to push me out of working here.”
Edina Zoltai, 40, a manager at Just Fair Trade, said: “We are very much hopeful with the plans of opening the walls between the market and this area.
“The development around the market is definitely a good thing for independents.”
Edina said the city would benefit from more independent businesses.
“We do have lots of uniqueness, and when you think of other cities, that is what we need more of,” she said.
“I think in this sector we can offer a much more personal and much nicer service than big chains.
“That’s why a higher percentage of our customers are regulars.”
Edina said Leicester also needed more of the makers’ markets which
The shopping experience with independents far exceeds the Fosse Park experience Dominic Gomersall,
right were held in Highcross. She said she liked the fact that the city centre did not have cars everywhere and praised the multicultural nature of Leicester and how “every month there is always something going on”.
Abbie Robinson, 38, another manager at Just, said the Silver Street area offered shoppers many unusual items that could not easily be found elsewhere.
But she said: “There’s not much of a police presence.
“I used to work in Humberstone Gate and we did see an increase in homeless people on drugs.
“I think people would feel a lot more reassured if there was more of a police presence.
“But they have been stretched, their resources have been cut.”
Sisters Tracey Brewill and Juliet Hooper run Brides of Bond Street.
Tracey said: “The one thing we hear from our customers is that they do not feel safe being here.
“It’s the begging and the drugs. I think it’s more people wanting money off you. It can be intimidating.”
As the shop takes regular deliveries of dresses and gowns, lorries have to drive through the city centre.
Juliet said: “The looks you get from people and the animosity you get from people with it all being pedestrianised.
“There are not enough signs to say vehicles are passing on this road.”
However, Tracey said: “We have to keep pushing the fact that there are some nice independents down here and try to get people to support independents.
“You have got to support the shops or there won’t be a high street.
“All we can say is that we have to stay positive.”
After the news of M&S’s closure broke, Dominic Gomersall, managing director of luxury jewellers Lumbers Ltd, in High Street, defended Leicester.
He said the city centre was “dynamic and vibrant” despite the proposed closure of the high street giant’s store.
Mr Gomersall said: “The city centre continues to be a dynamic and vibrant shopping area.
The shopping experience with independents far exceeds the Fosse Park experience.
“It is rarely highlighted how often drivers are sat in queues waiting to get in or out of Fosse Park – the convenience has altered and parking in the Highcross is now always readily available and easy.
“It is a far cry from the days when you just drove and parked outside your favourite Fosse Park shop or queued an hour to get into the city centre. This has all been reversed.
“Yes – things have changed and they will again. Fenwicks closed but we haven’t really missed it and those who mourned its closure had probably not frequented it for a decade.”
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