A UK high street shop will be closed indefinitely as one town centre faces another blow. Millets on Linthorpe Road, in Middlesbrough, will close in late September.
It is the latest business set to close its doors on the town’s high street and follows the nearby Next store that ceased trading last month. The town has seen the loss of several other shops including Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and House of Fraser. Councillor Mick Saunders, of Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association, highlighted the reason for the decline of the section of Linthorpe Road near the railway station at a meeting of the council on July 9.
He said: “You cannot ignore the continuing decline of the retail business in the town,” while stating that approximately 95% of shops and former building societies were empty on that section of the street.
Middlesbrough Labour councillor Theo Furness has also previously said the trend of decreased high street shopping was “sad” but Middlesbrough wasn’t alone.
He highlighted the fact the council had taken ownership of Captain Cook Square with a focus on leisure, as well as the Cleveland Centre, and was aiming to “rejig” the types of shops on offer in the town.
Regarding the closure of Next, Middlesbrough mayor, Labour’s Chris Cooke, said it was “regrettable” when big retailers were lost from the town centre, but it was part of a trend being felt nationally that is linked to the “dominance” of online shopping. In terms of regeneration, Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said recently that Middlesbrough town centre is the biggest problem in the area.
Mayor Houchen said there had been discussions with the owners of the Next building, as well as ongoing conversations with the owners of the Debenhams building about its potential to become office space, with retail and leisure space being proposed as an option on the ground floor.
He added: “We own, and are working with Middlesbrough Council on the House of Fraser building as well.”
The closure comes following an announcement of a series of high street shops being closed throughout the UK.