Audlem shops' remarkable growth

With the opening of The Pinfold today (8.00am) at 11 Cheshire Street, it's worth reflecting on the quite amazing growth of Audlem village businesses in recent years, so much so that Audlem now has more shops and cafes than for a generation or more. And there's more to come with HodgePodge and others due to open in the new facilities developed next to Oxtail & Trotter.

Think back just over five years ago. Audlem had the old Co-op, the post office, Williams' newsagents and the Salad Bowl, Boots chemist and the Old Priest House cafe while down on the Wharf, the Mill shop was closed for a period before re-opening. There was also a number of specialist shops, Braids hairdressers, Audlem Upholsterers, the Pine Shop and Graham Tresidder funeral services. And of course, through all this, Audlem Charity Shop sailed on, albeit with a temporary closure and a change of name.

Catalyst

The catalyst that has led to change was, it's now worth reflecting on, a development many were opposed to, albeit not in principle but detail – Moseley's Yard in Shropshire Street. That provided the Co-operative Food Store with larger, brighter premises as well as two other shop premises, now Mandyboo fashion boutique and Dressing Rooms.

It also left empty premises in a prime location and a local entrepreneur and builder from Hankelow saw the opportunity to develop the old Co-op building and convert it into three shop premises with flats above on The Square. Soon, in late 2009, Audlem CycleSport, Audlem Dry Cleaners, the Flower Company (now Flower Divas) had set up shop.

About the same time, the old bookies' building in Shropshire Street was renovated, opening initially as Chesters' Hair Salon and which is about to see another change with a canal narrow boat business about to open there.

Soon Cheshire Street was getting in the action with Boots taking over and expanding the chemists shop and Hoc's Fat Pigeon open near the butchers shop. Back on the Square, the Salad Bowl became The Deli and Jinja Bakes Cafe opened.

Last year, it seemed there would be a major setback when Charles Vernon retired after 27 years running the butchers but that led to the latest period of expansion with first Oxtail & Trotter opening last July and then Hugh and Kate Pocock going on to develop the outbuildings next to their shop and create two flats above.

If AudlemOnline were prone to exaggeration, we might almost describe this as Audlem's first shopping mall but the development has been far too tasteful for that description to fit.

How has this happened?

Unless anybody can think of another cause, local entrepreneurs is the simple answer, both those creating the retail space and those opening the shops and cafes. They have been helped by other factors, notably free parking, an ability to park outside shops for a limited time and facilities saved and dramatically improved such as Audlem Parish Council re-opening the public toilets in Cheshire Street.

That this has all happened in a period of national economic gloom makes it all the more remarkable. Perhaps Mary Portas, the retail guru given money to help struggling towns where shops have been closing in large numbers, should visit Audlem and speak to the entrepreneurs who have made it all happen.

After all, in those declining towns she has visited, she is having to work with councils whose policies such as restricted on-road parking, high parking charges, over-vigilent parking wardens, high business rates and permitted out of town developments may have caused many of those High Street closures.

With this tremendous growth in retail space in Audlem, it's increasingly worth supporting as many of the shops as possible. Local residents have gained enormously in recent years and a massive range of goods can now be bought in the village. So, if you can, please shop locally, support your community and, just as importantly, save yourself a lot of hassle.

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