Iconic Southport shop ‘Thorntons’ set to close

Thorntons on Lord Street has been open since 1991 and had six employees working in the shop.

Thorntons on Lord Street branch will close for the final time at the end of the month.

Four of the Lord Street staff are relocating to the Chapel Street store. The other two have chosen to take redundancy.

Other businesses that have closed down along Lord Street recently include:

https://www.otsnews.co.uk/another-lord-street-shop-has-gone-into-administration-southport/

https://www.otsnews.co.uk/greggs-the-bakers-closes-lord-street-shop-today-for-the-final-time-today-southport/

https://www.otsnews.co.uk/another-lord-street-shop-closing-down-molloys/

https://www.otsnews.co.uk/10-and-under-clothes-shop-now-open-in-place-of-iconic-russell-bromley-lord-street-store/

For the first time in several years there has been a net gain in new businesses opening and an annual increase of 3% in footfall; the national footfall rate continues to fall and the North of England average is in steep decline at -2.5%.

Earlier this year MP John Pugh carried out an audit of Lord St shops which shows the pressure Lord Street is under. Greggs is the latest shop is soon to be added to the Lord Street empty shop statistic.

Mr Pugh said:

“Lord Street used to be famous for its quality, independent stores but of the 167 shops less than half (73) are now retail and 17% (29) are vacant with 11 Charity Shops filling the gap. Sefton is complacently presiding over a real decline in Southport’s most valuable physical asset.

“There is no strategy or vision in place. It was all well and good to have a Halloween festival a couple of weeks back but the danger is that we end up with a ghost town.

“I get no feeling that senior council officers in their Bootle bases are losing any sleep over this problem though I encounter many members of the Southport public with good ideas for Lord St revival.”

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