Prospects are poor for Telford independent retailers

A new study by the Local Data Company and the British Independent Retailers Association describes Telford as a "clone town" with just 18.8 per cent of retailers in the town centre area being independent.

That makes it the centre with the smallest percentage of independent retailers in the UK, thanks in part to the the shoppping centre which covers a big proportion of the area containing many high-street chains.

Mark Tarran, who runs outdoor shop All Terrain in Telford Town Centre, said the root of the problem lay in the scale of government-set business rates.

"I think the prospects for independent retailers are dire, but not because of the landlords," he said.

"Confidence is still very weak for retail consumers, people are still holding onto their pounds very, very carefully, and Telford is a typical working class area.

"But a big problem comes from business rates, which any retailer will tell you are astronomical."

He added that he was pleased with the ambitious plans for the extensions to the town centre, but said setting up a store was particularly difficult because of the rates payments that need to be made before the business begins generating an income.

"You can fit out a store in a month, but it usually takes longer, and you have tens of thousands of pounds of business rates you have to find,"?Mr Tarran said.

"And you try getting finance for a start up retailer. There isn't any out there.

"There's a lack of government support, a lack of funding, and huge start up costs in business rates."

The LDC?figures revealed that the country has lost 200 small retailers in the first half of the year – the same as in the whole of 2012, although Wales and the West Midlands have both seen an increase in their numbers.

While mobile phones shops, second hand stores and coffee shops are opening up, women's clothing stores, furniture shops and discount shops have fallen away.

Ray Hickinbottom, from Shropshire's branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said it is a matter which extends beyond the boundaries of the town centre.

"If you have got Wellington, it has independent retailers, but when you look at places like Dawley and Much Wenlock there's not much for the independent retailers.

"I am surprised by how some manage to survive, as particularly in Dawley it often seems so quiet."

He added: "I think independent retail is very important for the future of Shropshire. There's a fallacy that independents are more expensive than the supermarkets, but in a lot of instances that's just not true."

Charlotte Baker, from Telford & Wrekin Council's Business Support & Tourism team, said: "Independent retailers are something we want to see not just in the town centre but across the borough.

"We are doing a property of the month, highlighting the properties that are available and offering incentives for any traders, independent or otherwise.

"We manage 600 commercial properties and 800 tenancies, but understand we have to be flexible."