'Use it or lose it' plea from town's traders

Belper's independent traders are feeling the pinch

Traders in a Derbyshire town say businesses are increasingly struggling with numbers of shoppers dwindling.

Before the Covid pandemic, Belper town centre was named the best in England in the 2019 Great British High Street awards.

But Belper shopkeepers say half a decade on, sales are drying up.

Independent traders feel banks closing, chains like Wilko leaving a hole in our High Streets, and the cost of living putting pressure on household budgets may be factors - and even the weather is not helping.

Strut Clothing's Laura would like some warmer weather to arrive

Laura Armstrong, of Strut Women clothes shop in Strutt Street, told the BBC: “Recently it’s been tough. Normally I’m bucking the trend with customers flowing in, it’s a great atmosphere in here.

“I feel like I’ve been held to ransom by the weather with a shop full of summer clothes and everyone walking around in puffer coats.

“I think I’m doing everything right. It’s a great town, we’ve got lovely coffee shops, it’s a nice place to spend the day.

"Hopefully if the sun comes out the shoppers will come back.”

If people stay away from shops then businesses like coffee shops also struggle, says Donna Carr

Donna Carr, of Dot-teas Emporium in Bridge Street, said: “Trade is dropping off really bad, I’m really struggling at the moment.

“Covid has had a big impact, people were buying online and not going to the high street and then coming to me and buying a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

"Everybody’s struggling with money and the cost of living, buses aren’t helping as they keep cancelling them, it’s a mixture of everything.

“2019 we won high street of the year - we just don’t have the footfall any more.”

Sankara Imports’ Katrina Cohn, chair of the Love Belper independent retail association, said: “There’s ups and downs, it has been slower lately than in the past.

“Belper is a great place for independent businesses but there’s a lot of concern right now with the lack of footfall, also the lower spend on average, and figuring out how to rebuild a community after the pandemic."

Katrina Cohn says there's a lot of concern among traders in the town

James Illsley, development manager at Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Businesses are telling us it’s almost a perfect storm of rising costs at the same time that sales are going down.

“The main thing is to use high streets, it really is a case of use it or lose it.

“It’s not just a collection of shops and businesses, it is a community centre, where people go. It’s the lifeblood of a town.”

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