Shops are ‘dying a death’
12-82 Very quiet Gadebridge shops, Hemel Hempstead with, from left, Rohit and his brother Hitendra Patel and Nicola Cay from Costcutters, and Kiran Patel from the newsagents next door.
NEIGHBOURHOOD shopping centres in Hemel Hempstead are suffering a massive decline in fortunes with dwindling customers and dingy amenities.
Shopkeepers claim they have never known business so slow and are calling on the council for action to boost trade.
Gary Makepeace, boss of Sandwich Makers in Bennettsgate, said: “There’s no trade. I’ve never known it as quiet as this.
“I think the parade needs clearing up to make it more attractive.”
Chrissy Wheeler, assistant manager at the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home shop next door, said: “We’re dying a death, there’s no-one about.
“January is a terrible month but it has got worse.”
Parry’s the newsagent has brought forward closing time by five hours from 6pm to 1pm to save cash.
Manager Claire Eddy said: “It’s so quiet they can’t afford to keep us open. There’s so much competition. People would rather go to the supermarket and pick up their papers than make a special trip.”
Tom Phillips, owner at TJ’s foodstore, said: “We’ve had to up our promotions to stay at the same level.”
Dacorum Borough Council said in a statement: “The council has plans to replant the planter and repaint Bennettsgate shops in the spring, once the weather improves.”
The owners of shops in Gadebridge, in a similar vein to shopkeepers in Bennets End, have voiced their concerns over a lack of shoppers.
Now to worsen the situation, they are angry at plans to allow a new conveinience store to open next door, a move they believe may push them under.
Rohit Patel, who co-owns the Costcutter store with members of his family, said: “Gadebridge Parade is dead, it’s run down here and every year there are fewer and fewer people.
“Another shop selling exactly the same will have a big impact. We would probably have to let a lot of our part time staff go.
“There’s been no consultation from the council about how we feel and we have restricted licences telling us what we can sell so we don’t duplicate business.”
Peter Hamilton who looks after estates at Dacorum Borough Council said: “I can’t comment at this stage on this particular case, but when a shop unit becomes vacant the council, as landlord, goes out to tender.
“Competition is one of the elements taken into consideration. Where there are objections or comments we are, of course, happy to hear them.
“My aim is to encourage vibrant, successful shopping areas for the local community.”
Should local shops get a special deal or is it tough all all over? Tell us what you think, email your views to thegazette@jpress.co.uk
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
PrivateDancer
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 01:27 PMDough !!
livewell
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 12:57 PMHempstead, I have nothing personal against their bread and if they refurbed their shop and changed their serving staff's attitudes I might even buy some myself until then i'll make my own thanks.
PrivateDancer
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 09:11 AMPeter Hamilton looks after estates at Dacorum Borough Council. I'd like to see the decor in his house then, though it's probably a big house somehwere out of Dacorum without a local shop in sight. Give the locals a lick of paint and they will shut up and get on with it....
hemeldave
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 07:03 PMI can see the crowds all flocking around the replanted planter wake up DBC.
longtime
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:50 PMIt's your choice folks, use it or lose it! Don't let's have any nonsense about the Council; if you spend your money in the supermarkets it's no-ones fault but your own.
hempstead
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:19 PMBennetts End bakery is a gem we are lucky to have fresh baked bread on the premises , the only one in Hemel Hempstead.
hempstead
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:14 PMUse them or lose them its as simple as that, its in our hands not the Councils.
golem11
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:37 PMI grew up in Gadebridge and back then the local shops had a butcher, baker, greengrocer, post office, sweet shop, chemist - all gone. Other than the newsagent and Costcutters I don't think there's anything left that you'd use on a daily basis so it's no wonder people go elsewhere. Costcutters have some good deals and they survived when there was a Londis store at the other end of the parade so hopefully they can do so again.
outofhemel
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:23 PMI do all my shopping online, it's great!
livewell
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:20 PMBennetts End shops do not need replanting and repainting, who's bright idea was that? Let me start with the gold mark, TJ's is the best local store I have used in hemel, the staff are all friendly and welcoming, the stocks good and it's got a good atmosphere.The fish shop has had a refit and cook all the food while you wait. The new-ish fishing- tackle shop is a little gem with everything you could need for your fishing trip. Out of the three newsagents parry's has the least stock (not even lottery) and is the least welcoming and now it's mostly shut, so why bother? The bakery, ohh, where to start? It's needed a refit for the last ten years, the staff are just plain rude and cough and splutter all over the food, half the time they use their fingers instead of serving tongs, enough said. Local people have been asking for benches up there forever, is it so hard for the council to understand people may like- need to sit down and not on those overturned lumps of concrete that aren't near the shops ! Maybe if a little more thought by Mr Hamiliton went into the leases we would have more diversity up there?
fredkarno
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:00 PMI like the idea of replanting the pots and a lick of paint and all will be well. I'm afraid that the 'sheds' have it all and the so called town planners let it happen without even blinking an eyelid (short-termism to be exact). Sainsburys used to be in Marlowes along with Tesco. Real people in real cars actually shopped in the town and parked their cars in car parks that were free. I can talk, where do I shop? I travel to a few sheds, park for nuffin, can buy also all my everyday needs from groceries, wallpaper, carpets, computers, seed potatoes, clothes and buy the fuel for my door to door transport. Bet you can't guess where. Until our elected representatives return to the real world, we get what we deserve.
DHS
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:40 PMDon't worry! It looks like the Council are going to demolish the Civic Center and sell the land for a new Supermarket. That'll help things I'm sure. But, in the mean time, they're going to splash some paint around.. All sorted then!
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