Summer Row blamed as fancy dress shop closes

A fancy dress shop in Wolverhampton is closing down with the loss of two jobs.

Funtasia, in Worcester Street, will shut for the last time on January 31 due to a drop in custom.

Owner Sally Pugh said she had been forced to take the decision because of a lack of trade in the Snow Hill area of the city, which she blamed on the stalled £300 million Summer Row shopping centre scheme.

She also blamed the problems on increasing competition from supermarkets and the internet.

Funtasia, which has been running for more than 10 years, will be relaunched as an internet-based party business.

Mrs Pugh said: "We are just in the wrong end of town now. Nobody comes around this area because they think all the shops are shut. If Summer Row had gone ahead I definitely think we would be able to stay open but we had to get out now. We couldn't carry on.

"We are keeping the website going for parties and bookings of more than six which I will hopefully be able to run from home."

The council is racing against the clock to secure a £20 million loan to help bankroll Summer Row. It has until February 11 to start legal proceedings to take control of land in the area before 200 compulsory purchase orders on businesses in the area lapse.