Farmfoods announces plan to close Nelson branch (From This Is Lancashire)

Sad news but in retailing property terms the Pendle Rise centre is sub-prime. Occupancy rates in centres like this and in many town centres generally are moving in one direction only - upwards.

Clearly Nelson's glowing future prospects as a 'Portas Pilot' was not enough to convince Farmfoods to stay in the town and if this business is a key contributor to footfall then the Portas-team will have their work cut-out.

I was in Burnley the other day and I noticed that some vacant shops were availabe 'To Let' on the basis of 12 months rent-free. This is a sure sign of acute distress but even with such offers I'd be surprised to see any takers.

Many folks in this neck of the woods are struggling to put food on the table, fuel in the car and pay the bills so those with the idea that there is a renaissance in retailing immediately ahead are in need of serious psychiatric assistance.

Very sad news...have'nt been in there for a long time...last time I was in, they had weigh n save, currys, timpsons shoes, gentlemen johns, burger chef, humberstones jewellers etc etc. Am I in for a shock when I go down saturday morning????

The `Arndale', as was, was well past it's sell-by date ages ago but instead of pulling it down, the council decided to EXTEND it by adding the Wilkinsons `carbuncle'. A great opportunity was missed to redevelop Nelson centre at that point. This was around the time Manchester Arndale was blown up by a terrorist bomb and they successfully made a clean start.

Having said that, it seems that the majority of town/city centres are failing and, as I recently saw commented by someone, there is only one source of blame for this - the local council. They have allowed the big supermarket chains to have stores on the town periphery (to draw away local trade by undercutting it only until all competition from them is lost) which also leads to less choice of product. They have not learned, look at plans for Barnoldswick.

They have allowed them free parking whilst driving the motorist away from town centres with draconian parking penalties and inconvenient, restricted access. Lack of proper policing can also make town centres intimidating.

I understand that the big-business supermarkets also have much more preferential business rates compared to small town centre shops. I realise online shopping also comes into things but that does not explain why some places, like Skipton (even with two superstores) are still thriving market towns with lots of variety. `What is the difference?' I ask myself and so should planners. Although based in Nelson, I find it a depressing place and much prefer Colne centre.

And yet this crazy government now wants more retail outlets built (which businesses don't need) and houses (which people can't afford) to `kickstart' the economy!

come back farmfoods dont you leave me on my own.

Another free advert for Eileen Ansar's shop. Is this a condition of the countless and pointless quotes she provides for this rag?

Seems a bit bazaar, that Farmfoods is going !!!!

But to be honest, the Arndale owner's and Pendle Council only have themselves to blame !!!!

If the Owner's are collecting say, £100k a year in rent, and half the arndale is empty, why don't they offer all Unit's low rent, so that the £100k a year is still achieved but the Arndale would then be full !!!!

I remember going to a Town Centre Meeting at the Town Hall, when the Council made a decsion to extend an already half empty Arndale to accomodate Wilkinson's !!!!! On the thinking that other Major Retailer's would follow !!!!

All the Shop-keeper's at that Meeting were amazed that this decsion was made !!!!! And everyone objected, but the pig-headed Council wouldn't listen !!!!

The one thing every Shop-keeper requested of the Council, was to open up Manchester Road to Through Traffic, this was refused by the Council' point blank !!!!!!

12 years on and NO Major Retailer's have followed Wilkinson's, and instead of a Through Road, we have a £2.1M Car Park Extension !!!!!

One of the Major flaws with Nelson is the total unprofessional and incompetent Council that Nelson has had for the last 20-30 year's !!!!!

Those are the one's who are responsible for systematiclly turnimg this once Busy Market Town into a Third World Carp Hole !!!!!

Thanks for nothing !!!!

Nelson died when Through Traffic was stopped, and that was many moon's ago, so if any knows how to breathe life into something that died a long, long time ago, you are welcome to waste your time, You've more chance of bringing the Dodo back to life !!!!

Nelson R.I.P.

Well said will12. Bang on.

Enlightened Patriot wrote:
The `Arndale', as was, was well past it's sell-by date ages ago but instead of pulling it down, the council decided to EXTEND it by adding the Wilkinsons `carbuncle'. A great opportunity was missed to redevelop Nelson centre at that point. This was around the time Manchester Arndale was blown up by a terrorist bomb and they successfully made a clean start.

Having said that, it seems that the majority of town/city centres are failing and, as I recently saw commented by someone, there is only one source of blame for this - the local council. They have allowed the big supermarket chains to have stores on the town periphery (to draw away local trade by undercutting it only until all competition from them is lost) which also leads to less choice of product. They have not learned, look at plans for Barnoldswick.

They have allowed them free parking whilst driving the motorist away from town centres with draconian parking penalties and inconvenient, restricted access. Lack of proper policing can also make town centres intimidating.

I understand that the big-business supermarkets also have much more preferential business rates compared to small town centre shops. I realise online shopping also comes into things but that does not explain why some places, like Skipton (even with two superstores) are still thriving market towns with lots of variety. `What is the difference?' I ask myself and so should planners. Although based in Nelson, I find it a depressing place and much prefer Colne centre.

And yet this crazy government now wants more retail outlets built (which businesses don't need) and houses (which people can't afford) to `kickstart' the economy!

Well the one big thing that every one on here seems to forget is that Nelson had a better rail service to the town with a double track railway with trains every 30 min, and before the 1970's you had a direct rail link to North and West Yorkshire via Earby, with no out of town shopping, well I tell you somthing now if fuel prices and car insurance keep going up your Out of town will go bust anyway, unless they have a really good public transport plan, Now Boundary Mill stores at Colne is in a good spot due to the fact it sits next to Colne train station so when the Colne to Skipton rail line getts reopend your going to have really good foot fall, and I would of though that the same would happen to Nelson and Colne town Centers again.

I am asking Every one here to fully get on board and support the Colne to Skipton rail line project, after all it all of you that are going to benefit from it, please take a look at the SELRAP website for all the details about the project.

Ansar go way

Jack Fultons must be taking their trade.

Perhaps the Nelson Bazaar can expand and have a link to the Pendle Rise.

Pull the whole lot down and build a garden. There are plenty of empty properties elsewhere in the town centre for the rest of the shops.

sim1846 wrote:

Enlightened Patriot wrote:
The `Arndale', as was, was well past it's sell-by date ages ago but instead of pulling it down, the council decided to EXTEND it by adding the Wilkinsons `carbuncle'. A great opportunity was missed to redevelop Nelson centre at that point. This was around the time Manchester Arndale was blown up by a terrorist bomb and they successfully made a clean start.

Having said that, it seems that the majority of town/city centres are failing and, as I recently saw commented by someone, there is only one source of blame for this - the local council. They have allowed the big supermarket chains to have stores on the town periphery (to draw away local trade by undercutting it only until all competition from them is lost) which also leads to less choice of product. They have not learned, look at plans for Barnoldswick.

They have allowed them free parking whilst driving the motorist away from town centres with draconian parking penalties and inconvenient, restricted access. Lack of proper policing can also make town centres intimidating.

I understand that the big-business supermarkets also have much more preferential business rates compared to small town centre shops. I realise online shopping also comes into things but that does not explain why some places, like Skipton (even with two superstores) are still thriving market towns with lots of variety. `What is the difference?' I ask myself and so should planners. Although based in Nelson, I find it a depressing place and much prefer Colne centre.

And yet this crazy government now wants more retail outlets built (which businesses don't need) and houses (which people can't afford) to `kickstart' the economy!

Well the one big thing that every one on here seems to forget is that Nelson had a better rail service to the town with a double track railway with trains every 30 min, and before the 1970's you had a direct rail link to North and West Yorkshire via Earby, with no out of town shopping, well I tell you somthing now if fuel prices and car insurance keep going up your Out of town will go bust anyway, unless they have a really good public transport plan, Now Boundary Mill stores at Colne is in a good spot due to the fact it sits next to Colne train station so when the Colne to Skipton rail line getts reopend your going to have really good foot fall, and I would of though that the same would happen to Nelson and Colne town Centers again.

I am asking Every one here to fully get on board and support the Colne to Skipton rail line project, after all it all of you that are going to benefit from it, please take a look at the SELRAP website for all the details about the project.

I would be very surprised if the re-opening of the Colne to Skipton railway line had a marked impact on shopping habits. Most shopping is undertaken within a radius of a few miles from place of residency. This is a key factor that came into play once levels of car ownership in Nelson began to rise: people could travel to Burnley with great ease and the marginal ‘cost’ in terms of money and time of doing so was more than compensated by the vastly superior retailing offer.

One could argue that if the line were re-opened then East Lancashire retailers could lose visitor custom as folks opted to travel to Skipton or Leeds which offer vastly different retailing experiences to our local towns.
Certainly the increasing price of fuel is causing motorists to make adjustments at the margin, but a large proportion of travelling that is undertaken by car is for the purpose of commuting to and from work. The distance between work and home has increased markedly and a large proportion of commuting patterns no longer conform to the traditional pattern of town-centre hub and spoke.

Moreover, as travelling costs rise I would expect employers to come under pressure to permit a greater degree of home-working, or to adjust flexi-time working so that staff can cram their working hours into fewer days (where possible). Quite possibly car-sharing would become firmly established and the provision of dedicated 2+ passenger car lanes on the A650 in Bradford and the junction with the M606/M62 at Chain Bar are a pointer to one possible future.

I think we would find that folks would be quite ingenious in constructing combined travel trips so that some out-of-town shopping would be incorporated into journeys undertaken for other reasons, such as commuting.

It is fair to say, however, that now is not the time to be taking a job that is a long distance from home unless the pay is high enough for the post-holder to accommodate a substantial rise in travelling costs with ease.
The principle attraction of the car is convenience. Humans place a very high value indeed on convenience, which is why you can charge a high price for a ready-made sandwich and it’s why car owners will attempt to reduce spending elsewhere in order to protect the use of their car. They will not readily relinquish car travel.

This is not to say that there would be no modal shift if the line were re-opened, especially if this was accompanied by increases in both frequency and speed of the service, but I do think that the claims about the benefits of re-opening would certainly benefit from exploring alternative scenarios of outcome.

Ansar and her council partners need only look in the mirror to see who is to blame for the demise of the shopping centre and also the town itself...

I would Argue your point on people relinquishing their car travel, I have seen the adverse of that living in Sydney Australia for the last 20 years, even people that have lots of money and I know a few will drop the use of the the car to get to work as long as you have good rail or bus links, it cuts down on stress for one, and it also enables you to work as your traveling, even if it's only a 20/30 min journey.

As with shopping, if you have multy choice with regards to your shopping exerience, it works, and you have the people comming in to the town from far and wide, Skipton is a very good example of this, Nelson could one day be a Market town again, with lots of choice, and the same goes for Colne.

sim1846 wrote:
I would Argue your point on people relinquishing their car travel, I have seen the adverse of that living in Sydney Australia for the last 20 years, even people that have lots of money and I know a few will drop the use of the the car to get to work as long as you have good rail or bus links, it cuts down on stress for one, and it also enables you to work as your traveling, even if it's only a 20/30 min journey.

As with shopping, if you have multy choice with regards to your shopping exerience, it works, and you have the people comming in to the town from far and wide, Skipton is a very good example of this, Nelson could one day be a Market town again, with lots of choice, and the same goes for Colne.

sim1846

I’m sure that we can argue the point about public versus private transport until the cows come home but one of the key changes of the last 20 to 30 years is not only the lengthening of commuting distances but there fragmentation both in terms of time and geographical origin and destination. This latter point makes it much harder for public transport networks to accommodate such patterns, although for those travelling long distances park-and-ride is quite feasible. Having said all this, inter-changing from one mode to another involves a significant perceived cost of time.

Not everyone has a job where they can undertake work while travelling on public transport and I suspect nor would some wish to do work while travelling. The key to modal shift is speed and frequency, but using public transport can be just as stressful as using the private car, albeit in other ways. The stress of wondering whether the train will be there? If it is will it be on time? And if it is on time will it complete the journey on schedule? Then, one has the worry about whether there might be other incidents of unpleasantness on the journey. One may scoff at such concerns but I know of folks who really do fret at the thought of using public transport for these very reasons.

Skipton is a good example of a thriving market town but really I am struggling to see either Nelson or Colne in the same light. In geographical terms Skipton is quite some distance from neighbouring towns: Settle must be 13 to 15 miles away, Keighley about 11 miles, Colne is about 13 miles and Harrogate is 20 miles. In short: there are no near significant competitors. In effect Skipton has a 10 mile shopping moat around it. The town has long been a market town for the Southern Dales and has long promoted itself as ‘The Gateway to the Dales’ to the West Yorkshire urban core. In other words Skipton’s history and geographical location are the major factors driving its ‘success’, in my view; notwithstanding its economic demographic as part of the commuter belt for West Yorkshire.

Nelson on the other hand has Burnley 2 miles to the west and Colne 3 miles to the east, or thereabouts; and Clitheroe is maybe 8 or 10 miles to the north. The economic demographic is vastly different. It is my contention that there simply isn’t the demand to raise Nelson or Colne into the same league as Skipton for the reasons that I describe above.

Policy-makers have been trying to re-invigorate Nelson as a shopping destination for the last 18 years with little success. The place has consumed millions upon millions of pounds of precious capital and while it look really nice the retailing offering has collapsed. Much of this collapse has occurred during the largest credit and consumption boom in living memory. If you cannot secure success for a town in these circumstances I am absolutely certain that the task will be even harder during a credit-crunch of unknown duration.

Nelson is now pinning hope on being a Portas Pilot. I wish them well.

Colne might be a little bit different, but even here there are significant out-of-town facilities. For the town-centre of Colne hope rests on operating as a ‘drive-thru’ for the convenience stores. Elsewhere in the town there are vacant retailing units and some of buildings currently occupied by shops are for sale on the basis of ‘business unaffected’. This suggests to me a number of things, either commercial property owners can see that growth in rental income will be pitifully small, or they are financially distressed and are having to raise liquidity. The freehold of one of the town centre public houses has been on the market for quite a considerable period of time, with no takers or so it would seem. Perhaps this explains why the asking price has been reduced.

I’m sorry to have rambled on but I didn’t wish to ignore or dismiss your commentary without justifying the reasoning for my views.

Kevin

sim1846 wrote:

Enlightened Patriot wrote:
The `Arndale', as was, was well past it's sell-by date ages ago but instead of pulling it down, the council decided to EXTEND it by adding the Wilkinsons `carbuncle'. A great opportunity was missed to redevelop Nelson centre at that point. This was around the time Manchester Arndale was blown up by a terrorist bomb and they successfully made a clean start.

Having said that, it seems that the majority of town/city centres are failing and, as I recently saw commented by someone, there is only one source of blame for this - the local council. They have allowed the big supermarket chains to have stores on the town periphery (to draw away local trade by undercutting it only until all competition from them is lost) which also leads to less choice of product. They have not learned, look at plans for Barnoldswick.

They have allowed them free parking whilst driving the motorist away from town centres with draconian parking penalties and inconvenient, restricted access. Lack of proper policing can also make town centres intimidating.

I understand that the big-business supermarkets also have much more preferential business rates compared to small town centre shops. I realise online shopping also comes into things but that does not explain why some places, like Skipton (even with two superstores) are still thriving market towns with lots of variety. `What is the difference?' I ask myself and so should planners. Although based in Nelson, I find it a depressing place and much prefer Colne centre.

And yet this crazy government now wants more retail outlets built (which businesses don't need) and houses (which people can't afford) to `kickstart' the economy!

Well the one big thing that every one on here seems to forget is that Nelson had a better rail service to the town with a double track railway with trains every 30 min, and before the 1970's you had a direct rail link to North and West Yorkshire via Earby, with no out of town shopping, well I tell you somthing now if fuel prices and car insurance keep going up your Out of town will go bust anyway, unless they have a really good public transport plan, Now Boundary Mill stores at Colne is in a good spot due to the fact it sits next to Colne train station so when the Colne to Skipton rail line getts reopend your going to have really good foot fall, and I would of though that the same would happen to Nelson and Colne town Centers again.

I am asking Every one here to fully get on board and support the Colne to Skipton rail line project, after all it all of you that are going to benefit from it, please take a look at the SELRAP website for all the details about the project.

stop your dreaming about the Colne/Skipton line reopening,its never going to happen.when the Tod curve reopens,your hope dies the death!!just as it should no need for colne/skipton line no economic benefits no employment benefits regardless of all the lies told!!!

Regarding the rail issue, to me it has never made economic sense to completely cut off this part of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire - all for the sake of 12 miles of track. Anyone wanting to travel to Yorkshire by rail (or the reverse) has an unnecessary loop to go round adding time and cost.

I have commuted to Skipton on business for the past few years (by car and motorcycle) and there are a LOT of people using the rail station to that end of the line. It seems inevitable to me that some of that footfall would have extended to Burnley/Nelson/Colne for work/shopping/leisur
e/education had the link been kept.

Beeching got it badly wrong and I wish SELRAP every success.

will12 wrote:
Seems a bit bazaar, that Farmfoods is going !!!! But to be honest, the Arndale owner's and Pendle Council only have themselves to blame !!!! If the Owner's are collecting say, £100k a year in rent, and half the arndale is empty, why don't they offer all Unit's low rent, so that the £100k a year is still achieved but the Arndale would then be full !!!! I remember going to a Town Centre Meeting at the Town Hall, when the Council made a decsion to extend an already half empty Arndale to accomodate Wilkinson's !!!!! On the thinking that other Major Retailer's would follow !!!! All the Shop-keeper's at that Meeting were amazed that this decsion was made !!!!! And everyone objected, but the pig-headed Council wouldn't listen !!!! The one thing every Shop-keeper requested of the Council, was to open up Manchester Road to Through Traffic, this was refused by the Council' point blank !!!!!! 12 years on and NO Major Retailer's have followed Wilkinson's, and instead of a Through Road, we have a £2.1M Car Park Extension !!!!! One of the Major flaws with Nelson is the total unprofessional and incompetent Council that Nelson has had for the last 20-30 year's !!!!! Those are the one's who are responsible for systematiclly turnimg this once Busy Market Town into a Third World Carp Hole !!!!! Thanks for nothing !!!! Nelson died when Through Traffic was stopped, and that was many moon's ago, so if any knows how to breathe life into something that died a long, long time ago, you are welcome to waste your time, You've more chance of bringing the Dodo back to life !!!! Nelson R.I.P.

I couldn't agree more, the town was ripped apart when the traffic was diverted but the parking wasn't addressed (first brilliant planning company), then when retailers started to leave the 'Arndale' the ownders and Pendle Council did nothing to improve the situation barr put the rents UP!, Scotland Rd, full of well established companies start to notice a down turn in trade, what happens,? nothing except an increase of charity shops and boarded up and for sale shops. Exit Co-op, Tesco, even Poundland. Parking Gestapo moved in and ticketed everyone they could, no good car parks, disk parking (for local folk??) drove more away. Nelson Bazaar, if you happen to be white you get told at the door that 'theres nothing in here for you'. Council spends £2.1 million building the biggest chicane in the county and shove a rusty erection in the middle. I dont see a single idea thats going to get shops back and therefore shoppers back. RIP Nelson, asian shops, charity shops and dodgy pubs. I'll stick to going elsewhere thanks.

sim1846 wrote:

Enlightened Patriot wrote: The `Arndale', as was, was well past it's sell-by date ages ago but instead of pulling it down, the council decided to EXTEND it by adding the Wilkinsons `carbuncle'. A great opportunity was missed to redevelop Nelson centre at that point. This was around the time Manchester Arndale was blown up by a terrorist bomb and they successfully made a clean start. Having said that, it seems that the majority of town/city centres are failing and, as I recently saw commented by someone, there is only one source of blame for this - the local council. They have allowed the big supermarket chains to have stores on the town periphery (to draw away local trade by undercutting it only until all competition from them is lost) which also leads to less choice of product. They have not learned, look at plans for Barnoldswick. They have allowed them free parking whilst driving the motorist away from town centres with draconian parking penalties and inconvenient, restricted access. Lack of proper policing can also make town centres intimidating. I understand that the big-business supermarkets also have much more preferential business rates compared to small town centre shops. I realise online shopping also comes into things but that does not explain why some places, like Skipton (even with two superstores) are still thriving market towns with lots of variety. `What is the difference?' I ask myself and so should planners. Although based in Nelson, I find it a depressing place and much prefer Colne centre. And yet this crazy government now wants more retail outlets built (which businesses don't need) and houses (which people can't afford) to `kickstart' the economy!

Well the one big thing that every one on here seems to forget is that Nelson had a better rail service to the town with a double track railway with trains every 30 min, and before the 1970's you had a direct rail link to North and West Yorkshire via Earby, with no out of town shopping, well I tell you somthing now if fuel prices and car insurance keep going up your Out of town will go bust anyway, unless they have a really good public transport plan, Now Boundary Mill stores at Colne is in a good spot due to the fact it sits next to Colne train station so when the Colne to Skipton rail line getts reopend your going to have really good foot fall, and I would of though that the same would happen to Nelson and Colne town Centers again. I am asking Every one here to fully get on board and support the Colne to Skipton rail line project, after all it all of you that are going to benefit from it, please take a look at the SELRAP website for all the details about the project.

What a load of cobblers, rail isnt the answer, its getting shops of a decent standard into the place to encourage people to actually visit and enjoy shopping there. Open the Skipton line again and that would encourage people to visit Skipton maybe, certainly not the other way round, Nelson is a run down has been of a town and unless Barnfield borough council do something fast it will always be so.

ToffeeGuy wrote:
Jack Fultons must be taking their trade. Perhaps the Nelson Bazaar can expand and have a link to the Pendle Rise.

Take the whole of Pendle Rise and make it the biggest Asian only shopping experience this side of the Punjab (dont mean the take away either)

HecticBigBoy wrote:

will12 wrote:
Seems a bit bazaar, that Farmfoods is going !!!! But to be honest, the Arndale owner's and Pendle Council only have themselves to blame !!!! If the Owner's are collecting say, £100k a year in rent, and half the arndale is empty, why don't they offer all Unit's low rent, so that the £100k a year is still achieved but the Arndale would then be full !!!! I remember going to a Town Centre Meeting at the Town Hall, when the Council made a decsion to extend an already half empty Arndale to accomodate Wilkinson's !!!!! On the thinking that other Major Retailer's would follow !!!! All the Shop-keeper's at that Meeting were amazed that this decsion was made !!!!! And everyone objected, but the pig-headed Council wouldn't listen !!!! The one thing every Shop-keeper requested of the Council, was to open up Manchester Road to Through Traffic, this was refused by the Council' point blank !!!!!! 12 years on and NO Major Retailer's have followed Wilkinson's, and instead of a Through Road, we have a £2.1M Car Park Extension !!!!! One of the Major flaws with Nelson is the total unprofessional and incompetent Council that Nelson has had for the last 20-30 year's !!!!! Those are the one's who are responsible for systematiclly turnimg this once Busy Market Town into a Third World Carp Hole !!!!! Thanks for nothing !!!! Nelson died when Through Traffic was stopped, and that was many moon's ago, so if any knows how to breathe life into something that died a long, long time ago, you are welcome to waste your time, You've more chance of bringing the Dodo back to life !!!! Nelson R.I.P.

I couldn't agree more, the town was ripped apart when the traffic was diverted but the parking wasn't addressed (first brilliant planning company), then when retailers started to leave the 'Arndale' the ownders and Pendle Council did nothing to improve the situation barr put the rents UP!, Scotland Rd, full of well established companies start to notice a down turn in trade, what happens,? nothing except an increase of charity shops and boarded up and for sale shops. Exit Co-op, Tesco, even Poundland. Parking Gestapo moved in and ticketed everyone they could, no good car parks, disk parking (for local folk??) drove more away. Nelson Bazaar, if you happen to be white you get told at the door that 'theres nothing in here for you'. Council spends £2.1 million building the biggest chicane in the county and shove a rusty erection in the middle. I dont see a single idea thats going to get shops back and therefore shoppers back. RIP Nelson, asian shops, charity shops and dodgy pubs. I'll stick to going elsewhere thanks.

its not the owners who are to blame,its this money grabbing council who think a buisness rate is a licence to print money,,rates go up,,the owners have no options but to put prices up.. then the shop owners ie farmfoods are left with 2 options shut down or keep putting prices up,so farmfoods have a cheaper outlet at Burnley they cant raise prices in Nelson so they close it down!!! simple economics that Pendle council hav'nt got to grips with yet unless its pumping money into Barnfields coffers!!