Shrewsbury bucking trend as chain stores move in
Shrewsbury is bucking a national trend for the number of chain stores, proving it is a "town on the move", according to its MP.
Daniel Kawczynski hailed figures released by Price Waterhouse Coopers as an indicator of the town becoming "a place people aspire to live".
The statistics showed that Shrewsbury is one of only seven out of 32 towns and cities in the West Midlands to have seen more openings than closures of chain stores in 2014.
The figures compare well against the national trend, with every region showing considerably more chain stores closing than opening – the West Midlands had 153 more closures than openings.
In total 20 chain stores opened in Shrewsbury during 2014, while 18 closed. Across the West Midlands 371 opened and 524 closed.
Mr Kawczynski said he believed the figures reflect Shrewsbury being a desirable location for businesses.
He said: "I have been speaking to some developers locally and asking them why there is such a large concentration of new housing in Shrewsbury and they have said what they are seeing is Shrewsbury is rapidly becoming a place that people aspire to live in.
"What is happening is because of the nature of Shrewsbury, the beauty and the history, the peace and tranquillity, it is a nice place to place to bring up a family, so what they are finding is that many people are starting to move to Shrewsbury from Wolverhampton, Telford, and the Black Country.
"Consequently we are seeing a greater investment in the town from these retailers who are starting to see Shrewsbury as a very important economic hub."
Mr Kawczynski said he also hoped the town would be able to challenge Telford as the region's main shopping destination. He said: "I am delighted because we would like to see Shrewsbury vigorously and rigorously challenge against Telford's objective to become a place where people want to go shopping."
Mr Kawczynski also hailed the town's economic prospects, and performance.
He said: "We had the largest number of business start-ups in our town last year so Shrewsbury is on the move. That coupled with the direct train service to London, and I am very pleased with the economy generally in Shrewsbury and this is another indicator of that."
