Town blow as store shuts

The Black Country is to lose another of its well-known shops, the second familiar name in one town alone to close in the space of a few months.

Simon Interiors of Stourbridge will shut its doors for the final time on February 22 after nearly a decade of trading in the town. The store, with its distinctive blue facade, has become a familiar site to shoppers in Market Street and is one of the town's best-known stores. But after nearly 10 years in Stourbridge, owner Simon Perry has decided to call it a day and move on to pastures new.

The 35-year-old, who has run his own business for 15 years, said the town was in decline from when he had set up.

Simon's Interiors, which specialises in custom-made soft furnishings, follows the Hollingsworths ironmongers, also based in Market Street, in established stores to leave the town over the past few months.

Mr Perry said he had not taken the decision lightly but had decided the time had come to move.

"It is very sad, to be honest. I have come to know many customers very well over the years and to leave it behind is hard.

"However the fact is Stourbridge is just not the town it was when I first came in nearly a decade ago.

"It has been in steady decline for a very long time now and there seems to be very little retail coming in to attract shoppers.

"My lease was up and it came down to giving it another four years or moving on and I decided it was time to move on."

Mr Perry blamed uncertainty over plans for a Tesco store as a major reason for Stourbridge's decline.

"I think the Tesco situation has held up a lot of things which would have been of benefit for the town," he said.

"It is still not resolved now. Perhaps if the scheme for the Crown Centre does go ahead it will breathe new life into Stourbridge. But it is a long time to wait to see what happens."

Mr Perry said he would consider opening up another store but said it would not be in Stourbridge.