Lockdown sees retail sales slide
Retail sales fell in January as the latest national lockdown hammered shops, according to new figures.
The British Retail Consortium-KPMG retail sales monitor for the month showed a 1.3% drop in total sales – while a separate report from Barclaycard revealed the sharpest fall in consumer spending since May.
The BRC say a rapid rise in online growth failed to offset the plunge in store sales.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "January saw retail sales growthdeclinetoitslowest level since May of last year – especially in clothing and footwear. Retailers have worked incredibly hard to expand online delivery and this led to record online non-food sales.”
Meanwhile Barclaycard sayconsumerspendingfell by 16.3% in January.
Officers have launched an investigation after Carnival House in Southwick was burgled and had windows smashed.
Northumbria Police received a report of breakin at the site on The King’s Road, last Friday.
It is understood that a number of windows have been smashed and a small amount of property, valued at under £500, was stolen from the premises.
After standing derelict for 17 years, the former St Hilda’s Parish Centre was transformed into the colourful multi-purpose site when it was taken over by community interest company Creative Seed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that Carnival House, run by husband and wife team Garner and Sandy Harris, has undergone a troubled launch, officially opening on August 1 last year.
However since then, Government restrictions have meant that the business has had to open and shut its doors a number of times, with a lot of trade being lost over the Christmas period.
Sandy has told the Echo how difficult it has been and highlighted the impact that the burglary has had on the team.
She said: “We were originally due to open on March 27 last year however lockdown forced us to move that back to August 1.
"Since then, restrictions
have meant that we have had to open and close constantly and through it all, we’ve tried to keep certain areas open. We have a cafe and bar on site however, due to Covid, we’ve not actually had the chance to actually use the bar.
"Thankfully we are lucky that those who broke in didn’t do more damage than what they did or took anything major.
"We’ve put our heart and soul into the business and we’ve had some great feedback
so to have someone wreck the place is a bit of a kick in the teeth.”
After posting about the incident on social media, Carnival House has received overwhelming support from the local community, something which Sandy has praised.
She added: “We’re just blown away by the support that we have received from everyone, people have really got behind us.
"We were feeling low by what has happened and it has made us realise that this is why we do what we do, it has been so lovely and it makes us hopeful for when we can actually reopen.
"I think we’d just appreciate it if anyone in the local area can keep with eyes and ears open so the police can catch whoever did this.”
Northumbria Police have confirmed that they are investigating the incident and are urging any members of the public to information to come forward.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Shortly before 12.30pm on Friday (February 5) we received a report of a break-in at Carnival House, The Kings Road, Sunderland.
“Three small windows at the property were reported as broken and a number of items valued at under £500 were reported stolen.
“Inquires are on-going and we are appealing for anyone with information to contact police on 101 or online, quoting log 352 050221.”