'I don't want to leave' - Dudley trader prepares to close her beloved craft shop amid falling footfall
A Dudley trader has told how she’s had to make the sad decision to close her beloved craft shop less than a year after moving back into the town, saying she’s unable to make it pay amid current tough trading times.
Abi Wakelam has said she is closing Castle Crafts, in Fountain Arcade in Dudley town centre, before the end of the year, blaming the loss of free parking in the town for reduced footfall, along with delayed Metro works and ongoing disruption caused by work to revamp the town’s bus station.
She told the Express & Star she has loved building up a community around her shop, which sells wool, buttons, ribbons, patterns as well as hosting knitting and crochet sessions.
But she simply cannot carry on, with footfall having fallen against a backdrop of closures of popular chain stores in the town, the loss of free parking and increased online competition.
Dudley-born Abi, aged 38, said: "I don't want to leave. I love the people, I love the customers, I love the business but I also am very aware of mental health and it shouldn't start taking over where I can't sleep on a night because I’m worrying. It’s one of those decisions I’ve had to make but I never in a million years thought I wouldn’t make it a year."
It’s her second stint at running a business in the town. She first took over a shop when she was 22 in the arcade before moving to Stone Street and she eventually called it quits when a giant fairground wheel was sited right outside the premises, reducing parking.
