A MAJOR department store has launched a closing down sale before it shuts for good in weeks.
House of Fraser will shut down its Lincoln High Street store, with a closing down sale marking the end of its presence in the city.
The economic downturn, inflation, and the cost-of-living crisis have made large-scale projects increasingly difficult to bring to life[/caption]
However, it’s unclear what will take its place since hotel plans have expired.
The luxury Radisson Hotel chain had won planning permission in 2020 to demolish the building and replace it with a 150-bed ‘lifestyle’ hotel featuring shops, a restaurant, a gym, a bar, and a courtyard garden.
The proposal was expected to create 190 jobs and boost Lincoln’s economy.
However, these plans never materialised, and the permission expired in May 2023.
Local reports suggest that no fresh applications have been submitted, and both House of Fraser and Radisson Hotels have remained silent about the site’s future.
The scheme initially received strong support when it was first approved nearly five years ago.
Council leader Naomi Tweddle, who chaired the planning committee at the time, had expressed excitement about the project, saying: “I look forward to sitting in the courtyard enjoying the sunshine once we can go out again.”
Meanwhile, planning consultant Tim Waring, speaking on behalf of the developers, had said the hotel would play a vital role in “restarting the local economy’s recovery”.
Despite the initial enthusiasm, concerns were raised about the demolition process in such a busy city centre location, as well as the lack of dedicated parking for hotel guests.
The collapse of the plans reflects wider struggles faced by high street retailers and major developments in the wake of the Covid pandemic and rising construction costs.
The economic downturn, inflation, and the cost-of-living crisis have made large-scale projects increasingly difficult to bring to life.
The retail sector has struggled in recent years as online shopping continues to grow.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), online retail sales jumped from 5% of total sales in 2008 to 27% in 2022.
At the same time, soaring inflation has put pressure on shoppers’ budgets, making it harder for many to spend on the high street.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
The scheme initially received strong support when it was first approved nearly five years ago[/caption]
Shoppers looking for final bargains had the chance to visit House of Fraser in Lincoln before it shut its doors for good in May[/caption]
