Parking and footfall at heart of issues for independent businesses in county town
It is Staffordshire's county town, but its plight is familiar to communities across the West Midlands.
Stafford's once thriving centre is ailing and those that run the independent shops that make it a special place to visit are fearful for its future.
The challenge facing Stafford is being replicated across the region, as leaders grapple with the challenge of persuading people that it is still worth making an effort to get out and shop.
A walk through Stafford's town centre shows a number of empty stores, with To Let signs visible along Greengate Street and Gaolgate Street near to Market Square and a number of stores holding closing down sales as they bowed to the inevitable.
Traders in the town centre have spoken about the issues they face, with a lack of footfall at times among the biggest issues alongside a lack of free and convenient parking nearby.
At the Yum Yum Sweet Company, owner Steve Tomes said that while the shop had been working well after the Covid pandemic, it had been a challenging time, with the closure of the high street Marks & Spencer store among the reasons for low footfall on the street.
He said: "It's been challenging because the high street is very weather-dependent and if it rains or there is any type of differential in the weather, the number of people evaporates and while the sunny weather brings out people, it can be very low in the week.
"We've been here since 2012 and I've seen it be good and bad and I think there's been a general downturn since Marks & Spencer left the area. Every time we have a big shop leave this end of town, we seem to have a decrease.
"Retailing is a team game and if you lose half your team, then the attraction is gone as if someone walks down the street to Marks & Spencer, they might have an impulse buy here."
