Worrying about the shops

The news of The Cheshire is a little concerning - and I'm really hoping that we don't end up with yet more empty buildings in the town centre.

But this is the thing that's worrying me....if we can't fill the shops now, why are we going to be able to fill them after the redevelopment?

I can understand an argument that perhaps a town centre reaches a "critical mass": when you've got a certain amount of shops all the other traders want to be in the same place. Perhaps Macc has dropped below this and the redevelopment will push us back above it.

But my concern is that the plans for the redevelopment haven't considered this, and just assume we'll fill them. If this is the case, then given the current commercial climate there is definitely cause for concern.

unsure about news...

It's a bit mixed this one.

Nationwide announce that it's going to "merge" (read: takeover?) Derbyshire and Cheshire building societies:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7603411.stm

Good news on the basis that it means that the Cheshire isn't going to fold completely, but bad news both long and short term for jobs.

I can't see them keeping two branches in Macc, I can't see the brand surviving at all, and then there's the question of what will happen to the head office.