Businessman asks shoppers to support Whitehaven's high street

Gerard Richardson, who owns Richardson's Wine and Coffee Merchants on Lowther Street in Whitehaven, took to social media to urge people to support their local shops.

News has emerged in the past week that high street giant Wilko's has gone into administration.

Though the process is ongoing and no stores are currently affected, the closure of a shop like Wilko's, which is a major store in Whitehaven's main shopping area, would have a major effect on other shops in the town centre.

A recent study from the British Retail Association (BRC) said that Britain had lost 6,000 shopfronts in the past five years, with ‘crippling’ business rates and the pandemic playing a large part in our stagnating high streets.

Mr Richardson said: "Here's hoping that Wilko's can survive their crisis, for the sake of their staff and the high street. But it's another reminder, if we needed one, that you either use it or lose it.

"When you consider that Whitehaven is packed in the run-up to Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day, it shows that the high street is still valued by many for that important gift.

"But shops have to open all year round and we all have staff wages to pay.

"To be honest, whether the high street survives is down to us all so if you like to do a bit of old-fashioned shopping at Christmas, try to throw us all a bone or two during the year."