Latest news with #Heswall
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Thriving' high street in Merseyside town facing 'inevitable decline' MP says
People feel a Merseyside town's high street is going downhill because too many shops have closed, according to a local MP. Heswall, a town in west Wirral, currently has a population of around 29,000 and is one of the more affluent areas in Merseyside. Average house prices in the area are around £430,000 and in March, it had the highest prices for a terraced house in the whole of Wirral. However Matthew Patrick, the MP for Wirral West, recently raised concerns about the town's high street following a number of businesses closing and the loss of Halifax, NatWest, Skipton, Barclays, and HSBC. This was after the issue was brought up by a number of people living in the area and Heswall councillor Kathy Hodson. In the House of Commons on June 9, Mr Patrick said Heswall was 'a brilliant place to live,' but added: 'They deserve a thriving high street but unfortunately for too many years, beloved shops have closed and decline has felt inevitable.' READ MORE: 'I've got 400 animals in here and I'm scared they'll all die' READ MORE: Doggy daycare cancels all bookings as owner says 'we simply can't justify it' He told the ECHO the decline of high streets across the country was previously treated as inevitable, adding: 'That attitude is clear to see in Heswall, a great area which deserves a thriving high street, but instead has seen some beloved shops and bank branches closed.' The Labour MP said the government was now taking action, adding: 'I will do all I can to support the revival of Heswall high street, and continue to work with local councillors to ensure the community can be put in control of its future.' On June 9, Mr Patrick asked what the government was doing to take back control of the high street 'so it can thrive once again". Parliamentary Under-Secretary Alex Norris MP said the government understood challenges faced by communities like Heswall, in particular those on the coast. He said 'We are driving power and funding out of Westminster to ensure no community is left behind.' Mr Norris also pointed to a recent announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves of £1.6bn in transport funding for the Liverpool City Region as well as £100m for the local bus network. He added: 'I would encourage Wirral Council as with all local authorities to take advantage of the new powers the government has introduced to reoccupy empty shops which is such a blight on the high street.' For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @LivECHONews - the official Liverpool ECHO Twitter account - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
The Original Factory Shop launches closing down sale at yet another store – see full list of locations closing in June
THE Original Factory Shop has launched a closing down sale at yet another store. A branch in Heswall is the latest store to announce its closure, leaving shoppers heartbroken. 1 The Merseyside branch has launched closing down sale to help shift stock before it shutters for good. Shoppers have a chance to grab up to 70% off selected lines, and 50% off electrical products. The Henswell store opened two years ago in June 2023. The exact date the store is closing has not yet been confirmed but The Sun will update this piece when we hear more. Up to 11 TOFS stores are already to set to close this month, including sites across Worcestershire, Durham and Cumbria . Meanwhile, another five stores across Nairn, Market Drayton, Troon, Blairgowrie and Castle Douglas have been placed up for sale. The Original Factory Shop has told The Sun that negotiations are ongoing with landlords - making it unclear whether these shops will remain open. It comes as part of a major restructuring carried out by new owner Modella Capital with a number of loss making stores having to close as result. Over June nine of these stores will close, including sites in Dorest and Durham. Another site in Middlewich is also set to close however a date is yet to be confirmed. Popular retailer to RETURN 13 years after collapsing into administration and shutting 236 stores You can see the full list of store closures here: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire - June 26 Perth - June 28 Chester Le Street, County Durham - June 28 Arbroath, Angus - June 28 Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire - June 28 Pershore, Worcestershire - June 28 Normanton, West Yorkshire - June 28 Peterhead, Aberdeenshire - June 28 Shaftesbury, Dorset - June 28 Staveley, Cumbria - July 12 Middlewich - TBC Heswall - TBC The following stores are also up for sale: Nairn Market Drayton Troon Blairgowrie Castle Douglas What's been happening with The Original Factory Shop? Private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop back in February and has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 TOFS stores. Modella is known for picking up struggling retailers, having also recently acquired Hobbycraft and WHSmith 's high street shops. It is set to rebrand all WHSmith high street stores to TGJones, and has brought in advisers to look at potential options for Hobbycraft. At the end of April, Modella drew up plans to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for TOFS. Companies often use CVAs to prevent insolvency, which could otherwise result in store closures or the collapse of the entire business. They allow firms to explore different strategies such as negotiating reduced rent rates with landlords. TOFS previously told The Press and Journal that a "number of loss-making stores will have to close" as part of the restructuring. It said at the time: "Closing stores is always a tough decision and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible. And it is not only TOFS that is facing hard times. Hobbycraft is set to close nine stores come June 21. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Heswall Day Centre: Wirral adult social care day centre to be sold
A former adult social care centre, which closed last year as the building was left to fall in to a state of disrepair, is to be sold Day Centre on Telegraph Road in Heswall, Wirral, shut its doors due to a heating failure and the service, which supported 52 adults, moved to other Council found it would cost at least £500,000 to bring the building back into use and £5.6m for a full refurbishment, something the cash-strapped authority said it cannot Phil Gilchrist, said the situation was the reality of savings the council had to make over the years to its budget. "The chickens have come home to roost because over the years to maintain staff and support, we have made savings with the buildings," the leader of the Liberal Democrat group said.A council report said the building faced problems with asbestos and after the heating failure, further investigations were needed which involved digging up the floor and concluded no other reasonable options but to sell. Labour councillor Mike Sullivan said the Heswall building was "no longer fit for purpose" and it was "not viable" to try and "put it back into a good state of repair". Questions were raised about when the council began considering the centre for sale after Peter Linnane, whose son Mark used the centre, pointed out they had finished renovating the garden just one month before it assured councillors the situation at Heswall was not something that had been anticipated last year. 'Decades of neglect' The local authority said it would work with families and volunteers who had invested £19,000 into the centre's garden to relocate this to other Kieran Murphy, of the Green Party, questioned why the centre's condition was not brought up in budget discussions earlier this year, adding that it was "a knee jerk reaction to a financial situation and the result of decades of neglect of the buildings".Council officers said there was capacity in other centres and there had been no reduction in people's care as a result of moving from Heswall. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
M&S shoppers race to buy £3.50 margarita in a can that's has a new and improved feature that fans are going wild for
WITH summer now here, we're all dreaming of relaxing in the park or the garden with a cheeky drink in hand. And shoppers are going wild for the latest collection of tinned cocktails from Marks & Spencer. 3 3 3 The new collection of goodies has launched in store and there's something for everyone. The M&S store in Heswall shared the summer drinks on TikTok writing: "Look like summer." The original collection includes favourites such as mojitos, pina coladas and cosmos, but they've gone more experimental this time. M&S has some fan favourites up for grabs this summer, like Apertivio Spritz, which is made from bitter orange flavours and sparkling white wine. There's also a mint and elderflower Hugo Spritz and a Limoncello Spritz. Also up for grabs is an exotic Sake Spritz, made with a blend of the Japanese liquor in a tropical lyche flavour. But there's one cocktail that has everyone excited to try. Included in the new range of drinks is a margarita made with blanco tequila, zestty limes and sweet agave syrup. While M&S has released the iconic cocktail before, in the past it has been a fizzy version. But now shoppers are thrilled to see it come without the fizz and it costs just £3.50. The £3.50 M&S buy that'll make your whole house smell like a 'boujee candle' The TikTok video was a hit with viewers who couldn't hide their excitement over the new collection. One person wrote: "Hope this means M&S are finally selling a proper margarita that's not fizzy!" which the store liked, hinting it was. Another commented: 'Those little 14% ones are chef's kiss." "M&S STAYS WINNING," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Omg the Hugo." "Heaven,' claimed a fifth.
