Farm Foods urged to try harder to keep Nelson store (From Lancashire Telegraph)

why is it scandal? bunch of idiots, why should Farmfoods be forced to hold meetings, costing more money ! They not making money from Nelson, so why stay open? Why do we have to "try"to force them to stay open. Its a private company not owned by the government, leave them to it !

Shows what a desperate place Nelson has become if the likes of Farmfoods are being begged to stay..it will however be a good place to survive a nuclear holocaust...why? because the attackers will think its been done already ;-)

You go into business with the aim of making money, so now you get slammed and penalised for good business sense ?????

It was running well in Accrington but closed due to owners choice

Venomp wrote:
It was running well in Accrington but closed due to owners choice

End of day, whether its owners choice or not, we have no say in it at all ! and nethier does this council !

nelson is under revival.ha ha ha.where

coates warder wrote:
nelson is under revival.ha ha ha.where

In councillor Eileen Ansar's dreams, that's where!

Perhaps Coun Eileen Ansar could persuade them to start selling saris, etc. to increase business? Oh no, I don't think that would work somehow.

Enlightened Patriot wrote:
Perhaps Coun Eileen Ansar could persuade them to start selling saris, etc. to increase business? Oh no, I don't think that would work somehow.

Or she might be able to persuade Pendle Council's luncheon clubs to buy all their food from Farm Foods. I'm sure your average pensioner would really appreciate donner meat and chips or a three bird roast for their £4.40. At Farm Food prices they could soon get the luncheon clubs profitable again!

"Coun Eileen Ansar, have demanded to know what efforts are being made to convince Farm Foods that Nelson is undergoing a revival and they should reverse their decision."

In short, you can't. You've got more chance of convincing them the Elvis will be found on the moon riding Shergar.

Well now, I suspect that the decision by Farm Foods to exit Nelson is one that was not taken lightly. Moreover I imagine that the decision was based on past and current trading performance of the store, along with a considered assessment of likely performance in the years ahead, including full knowledge that Nelson is in the first-wave of Portas Pilot towns.

If this assessment is correct then I doubt that the Council will be able to persuade the company otherwise. Hope must surely rest with the landlord of Pendle Rise who I imagine will be absolutely desperate to retain existing leaseholders. I do not know the level of the current vacancy rate in the centre but my guess would be that the figure is not a pretty sight and is one that will have the owner lay awake at night with worry.

By the way: is Pendle Rise still being run by receivers? The last that I knew was that Edinburgh House had been given the asset management mandate after the centre was placed into receivership by the Bank of Ireland.

Hardly a scandal.... and not surprising either.

The real scandal is that money continues to be pumped into Nelson in a desperate effort to keep it afloat. It wont work!

Nelson is a completely dead town and I believe Pendle Rise is extortionate rent wise

Superdrug will be to close, closely followed by SpecSavers and Boots.... Then your left with the only two shops which make any money in the Pendle Rise, Wilkinsons and Home Bargains.

Even when Wilkinsons built their store they ensured there was alternative access as a provision for once the Pendle Rise completely closed not just for Sunday trading and most suspected

stop the asian buying food from cash and carrys

Kevin, Colne wrote:
Well now, I suspect that the decision by Farm Foods to exit Nelson is one that was not taken lightly. Moreover I imagine that the decision was based on past and current trading performance of the store, along with a considered assessment of likely performance in the years ahead, including full knowledge that Nelson is in the first-wave of Portas Pilot towns.

If this assessment is correct then I doubt that the Council will be able to persuade the company otherwise. Hope must surely rest with the landlord of Pendle Rise who I imagine will be absolutely desperate to retain existing leaseholders. I do not know the level of the current vacancy rate in the centre but my guess would be that the figure is not a pretty sight and is one that will have the owner lay awake at night with worry.

By the way: is Pendle Rise still being run by receivers? The last that I knew was that Edinburgh House had been given the asset management mandate after the centre was placed into receivership by the Bank of Ireland.

Grow up Kevin the owners of Pedle rise are on a loser Pedle Council make it impossible for survival in Nelson over the years the owners have had to keep passing your rate rises on to the people,who rent the shops,then they pass the rise on to the people hence the reason the owners want to close the Centre down as soon as possible,its not just Farm Foods,,

The owners of Pendle Rise are certainly 'on a loser', which is why I'm glad that I don't own it. In commercial property terms Pendle Rise is sub-prime. In fact I would venture to suggest that it is 'junk'.

As I understand the position commercial property rates are determined from the rateable value using a multipler set by national government. I think that this system was introduced many years ago in order to limit the ability of local councils to impose a greater burden of local taxation on commercial property. I believe that subsequently changes have been made so that commercial property owners are now liable to pay tax on vacant property earlier than had been the case.

I think it must be exceedingly hard to sustain a business in Pendle Rise with rates, rent and service charges. As with any business all costs ultimately must be paid for by the customers. Landlords of sub-prime commercial property are now facing a truly terrible situation: vacancy rates are rising inexorably and there is no end in sight to this trend. This situation is partly of their own makiing through upward-only rent reviews that results in shops paying rents that are 'strapped to a rocket'.

I have to say that I am not convinced by the argument that the owners of Pendle Rise wish to close it. I suspect that this is the very last thing they want, although I fear that some of the existing tenants are seeking to exit, and who would blame them?

There may come a point where the best option for the owners would be to terminate tenancies and demolish the place. The bottom line is this: there's too much retailing space in the centre of Nelson. The Victory Centre demonstrates this all too well and the idea that the 'Portas Pilot' can save the day is wishful thinking bordering on the delusional.

Kevin, Colne wrote:
The owners of Pendle Rise are certainly 'on a loser', which is why I'm glad that I don't own it. In commercial property terms Pendle Rise is sub-prime. In fact I would venture to suggest that it is 'junk'.

As I understand the position commercial property rates are determined from the rateable value using a multipler set by national government. I think that this system was introduced many years ago in order to limit the ability of local councils to impose a greater burden of local taxation on commercial property. I believe that subsequently changes have been made so that commercial property owners are now liable to pay tax on vacant property earlier than had been the case.

I think it must be exceedingly hard to sustain a business in Pendle Rise with rates, rent and service charges. As with any business all costs ultimately must be paid for by the customers. Landlords of sub-prime commercial property are now facing a truly terrible situation: vacancy rates are rising inexorably and there is no end in sight to this trend. This situation is partly of their own makiing through upward-only rent reviews that results in shops paying rents that are 'strapped to a rocket'.

I have to say that I am not convinced by the argument that the owners of Pendle Rise wish to close it. I suspect that this is the very last thing they want, although I fear that some of the existing tenants are seeking to exit, and who would blame them?

There may come a point where the best option for the owners would be to terminate tenancies and demolish the place. The bottom line is this: there's too much retailing space in the centre of Nelson. The Victory Centre demonstrates this all too well and the idea that the 'Portas Pilot' can save the day is wishful thinking bordering on the delusional.

Rates have,nt always been decided with a national multiplyer,when it was 2 tiers it was the council who set the rates,,