Carlisle House of Fraser store announces 'closing down sale'

Despite staff using numerous posters to announce the sale, nobody at the business would comment on a claim that a closure may be completed by May, ending a decades long city centre presence for the retailer.

If that were to happen, the store will become the latest in a growing rollcall of city centre retail casualties.

The closing down sale was announced just weeks after the House of Fraser building was sold for £750,000, ending a retail story that dates back locally to 1906.

Insiders say the store's 'closure' will not affect Caffé Nero.

Paul Nedved, a Stanwix Rural parish councillor, said staff at the store had told him the English Street store will close at the end of May.

“If true, this is deeply sad news," he said. "With the history of Binns and House of Fraser on that site, and the subsequent loss of jobs, it would be a huge blow.

"It would also further devalue our lovely city centre and the retail offer for residents and visitors alike."

Mr Nedved spoke as he attended the Cumberland Economic Forum, which was to feature discussions about how to tackle the scourge of empty properties in town and city centres, locally and across the country.

He cited the recent closures in Carlisle city of other big-name stores, such as Tesco, Wilkos, and Debenhams. All have left large buildings unused.

He said he was told staff at the city’s House of Fraser had been interested in a possible relocation to the Debenhams site but that was not considered achievable within a three month period.

“It’s very worrisome,” said Mr Nedved (pictured below).

But he pointed to various ongoing and "positive initiatives" which have been designed to inject fresh life into town and city centres – initiatives such as the Borderlands scheme, the Towns Fund, and the High Street Fund.

The former Carlisle city councillor and executive member added: “We need to see positive change to bring back a thriving city centre.

“We need to encourage retail businesses to come into the city centre and to find a way of repurposing some of these buildings. Cumberland Council and the Government need to really pull out the stops.

"Otherwise, we will see increasingly dying city centres.”

House of Fraser in Carlisle (Image: Newsquest)

Part of that strategy, he said, could be to encourage more people to live in the city centre; he pointed out that more than 4,000 people once lived in the area but that figure has fallen to around 1,500.

Independent Cumberland Council councillor Robert Betton said: “If House of Fraser is closing, it would not surprise me. This is a trend.

“There should be more done to encourage businesses to stay in the city centre. Rents are sky high and business rates don’t help. With rising energy costs and all those factors, there should be more done.

"It’s not just big businesses; it’s businesses across the board that are affected. This saddens me. This has been an iconic store.”

Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said she too would not be surprised by the closure of House of Fraser in Carlisle city centre.

She added: "Hopefully, the building will... pass into a new use that adds to the city centre. As it is, although the store is open, the building is something of an eyesore and the store a sad shadow of its former self.

“It would be great to see this very central building redeveloped into apartments, perhaps with some leisure and/or retail on the ground floor, bringing more life into the city centre.”

Caffe Nero were invited to comment but had not done so at the time of going to press.