Letters flooding in to support Ludlow family firm
Dozens of letters of support from across the country have been sent to an under-threat drapers shop in a town in Shropshire in the space of four days, it has been revealed.
People from as far afield as High Wycombe and Birmingham have written to staff at EJ Poyner drapers in Ludlow since it was revealed last week the shop was facing closure due to spiralling business rates.
More than 40 visitors to the store have also left messages of goodwill in a comments book opened on Friday as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the store's plight, and staff have praised people across the town and beyond for their support.
Staff met with officials from the Valuation Office Agency at the store yesterday to discuss their case and expect to find out whether their rates will be changed in the new year.
But workers are also facing an extra bill after a window at the shop on Broad Street was smashed on Saturday night – just two days after the store's plight was publicised. The window has been boarded up and it is hoped repairs will be carried out soon.
The shop is in danger of closing after it was revealed the business's monthly rates had shot up from about £550 to more than £800 in the space of two years. Ludlow town councillors Graeme Perks and Jim Newbold have since issued a plea to residents to use the store or face losing it.
A drapers shop has been run at the site since 1897 and it has been owned by the Poyner family for more than 90 years. The shop sells women's and children's clothes and underwear, hats and ribbons.
Margaret Edwards, a shop assistant at EJ Poyner, said: "We have had 24 letters of support since Thursday and more than 40 visitors have left comments in our book which we opened on Friday. We have had people from as far afield as High Wycombe getting in touch, and one person from
Derby said they were on their first visit to Ludlow and that our shop was enough to convince them to come back."
Andrew Bennett, spokesman for the VOA, said an appeal over the rates charged at the shop had been made and that the agency would be carrying out its own review.
Richard Ewels, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, said it was not yet clear whether the window had been smashed intentionally by vandals or damaged in an accident.
He urged any witnesses to contact Ludlow police station on 101 or pass details anonymously on 0800 555111.
