Shrewsbury bucking national trend with shop openings
Shropshire's county town is bucking the national trend for the closure of shops, new figures have revealed.
In the first half of the year, the West Midlands saw a net reduction of 65 in the number of outlets run by retail chains, with a total of 239 closing and only 174 springing up in their place.
That mirrored a decline in outlets seen across England.
But in Shrewsbury more multi-branch retailers have opened than closed in the six months to June 30.
The figures come from financial services giant PwC, which assessed 4,949 outlets operated by multiple retailers in 32 town centres across the West Midlands as part of a national survey.
It found that while Birmingham saw a net decline of 16 retailers during the period, and Hereford lost six names from its high street, Shrewsbury enjoyed seven openings but only lost five outlets.
Lotions and potions seller Neal's Yard was among the stores to open in the town in the first half of the year, in High Street, where it was joined by clothing retailer Seasalt.
"We are delighted that the number of shops opening in Shrewsbury outnumbers the closures and that we're bucking the regional trend," said Kirsten Henly, from Shrewsbury's Business Improvement District.
"There is a really positive feeling in the town centre with the arrival of the new University and the recent investment by fashion giant Primark in their Shrewsbury store, which will be coming to the town."
Across England, high streets experienced a net decline of 437 in the number of outlets, but that was a slower drop than the country felt in the first half of 2014.
The West Midlands also saw its decline slow, from 67 to 65.
No other Shropshire towns were included on the list, but stores have been opening elsewhere. Telford recently saw the opening of a new Toys R Us, while Oswestry has seen a new B&M store open in recent weeks.
Ms Henly added: "We're proud to play a part and businesses are now able to work collectively on the activities and projects that make a positive difference to trading in Shrewsbury, from the £1 car parking on Sunday's incentive introduced in June to the power of high profile marketing activity."
