Monday, May 19, 2008
Another village shop to close!
I had rather mixed feelings when I read the news that Harold Stewart was to retire from running Gnosall News especially as this announcement came just days after the owners of Derrington Stores also said they were intending to retire.
On the one hand I was pleased that after serving Gnosall for 14 years Harold had decided to retire and take a well earned rest. Being a local newsagent cannot be an easy job, as it involves plenty of early mornings! Also being self employed, and I should know, is no easy matter these days and unless you keep on the ball and don’t let the red tape get you down your business can easily hit the rocks! So I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of anyone who wants to retire from such pressures.
On the other hand I was concerned to learn that the Co-op who runs the supermarket just yards away down the High Street had brought the shop. I’ve already been asked by a couple of Gnosall residents was the reason they made this move just purely to ensure they had no nearby competition for the own store? I had to say I didn’t know, but I suppose only time will tell when we see what the old newsagents shop is going to be used for?
What is clear is that once again local people are the ones who are going to loose out, as it appears the Co-op do not intend to continue with newspaper deliveries. Indeed a number of residents have even asked the newsagent in Haughton if he could deliver in Gnosall, but as you might expect this is a non-starter!
One is left wondering of the closure of this shop yet another nail in the coffin of small rural services and whether or not it heralds the day when a number of villages will have to rely on one supermarket to supply their needs?
On the one hand I was pleased that after serving Gnosall for 14 years Harold had decided to retire and take a well earned rest. Being a local newsagent cannot be an easy job, as it involves plenty of early mornings! Also being self employed, and I should know, is no easy matter these days and unless you keep on the ball and don’t let the red tape get you down your business can easily hit the rocks! So I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of anyone who wants to retire from such pressures.
On the other hand I was concerned to learn that the Co-op who runs the supermarket just yards away down the High Street had brought the shop. I’ve already been asked by a couple of Gnosall residents was the reason they made this move just purely to ensure they had no nearby competition for the own store? I had to say I didn’t know, but I suppose only time will tell when we see what the old newsagents shop is going to be used for?
What is clear is that once again local people are the ones who are going to loose out, as it appears the Co-op do not intend to continue with newspaper deliveries. Indeed a number of residents have even asked the newsagent in Haughton if he could deliver in Gnosall, but as you might expect this is a non-starter!
One is left wondering of the closure of this shop yet another nail in the coffin of small rural services and whether or not it heralds the day when a number of villages will have to rely on one supermarket to supply their needs?
# posted by Barry Stamp @ 7:05 PM 
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