Traders fear that high business rates and the opening of a new retail park will 'rip the heart out' of a Cheshire town.
Vacant units are becoming a common sight in Macclesfield town centre on roads that used to be prime shopping locations like Mill Street and at the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Cheshire Live reports. Business owners in the area are urging locals to use the shops or lose them as many premises have shut their doors for the last time this year.
It is thought that many more could follow, with Marks and Spencer soon closing in the centre, to be replaced by an M&S food unit on the new Barracks Mill retail park just off the A523.
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M&S cited a 'change in shopping habits' when announcing the sad news that it will leave the town. And that change in shopping habits, mainly meaning online delivery services which were accelerated during lockdown, is affecting more than just the big high street chains.
CheshireLive spoke to local traders to get their feel for the way the town centre will go in such an uncertain period for the retail sector. Stephen Perrett is from Cheetham And Mortimer Estate Agents in Manchester. He told us the town centre is bound to change, but new retailers will come in.
“My take on it is that Mill Street itself is not that badly affected," he said. "Marks and Spencer is due to close around Christmas time.
"That’s going to leave a big hole in that part of the high street. But it depends on what the new owner’s going to do with it.”
“Carphone Warehouse closed their store in Macclesfield over a year ago, but their lease doesn’t expire for another week. Until that lease expires at the end of August we can’t actually get another occupier in there. But we have got some people who are interested in it.”
Stephen says that the new development on Barracks Mill, which will contain Aldi, B&M and Marks and Spencer, may not be so bad for Macclesfield.
“You can argue if it wasn't built in Macclesfield, that people would go elsewhere such as Stockport or Congleton for shopping. At least it is retaining a lot of the customers in the town, who would have gone elsewhere otherwise.”
Di Grogan runs the G and T bar. She says it’s a case of use the shops or lose them.
"If people used the shops, they wouldn’t leave," she said. "There’s hardly any women's clothes shops left in Macc.
"Roman on Mill Street has shut, River Island’s gone. They need to get a Primark in there, if they got a Primark people would come to that.
“I actually think that town centre flats would be a good idea, I get people in my bar who've moved in from areas like Manchester and Birmingham because it's so central to the trains. I've got a lot of customers who are doing that.”
Chris Stubbs at Greenham Commercial Property Agents told us there are many more big changes on the horizon.
He said: “You’ve got Marks and Spencer shutting down and I am pretty certain another two big shops will go within the next couple of years.”
“ Macclesfield is changing, certainly due to business rates, the cost of running shops is becoming harder.
"Streets such as Mill Street and Chestergate are affected by the rates, you can go and rent a shop on Mill Street for maybe £30,000 to £40,000, but you’ll probably pay that again in business rates on top of that.
“Then what you tend to see is secondary or tertiary areas, attracting what are principally local occupiers. A lot of times we are getting these streets taken up with leisure users, bars, cafes and restaurants.
“My personal view is that we will get to a saturation point. I think the way the economy is going we will see a churn of these bars, the good ones will survive.
“I think Macclesfield’s facing a struggle with its identity. My parents always came here as it was a great place for lots of little independent retailers and Macclesfield did that very well. But independent retailers can't afford to build a high street.”
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