It’s three years now since Hooper’s department store closed. It’s one week since its replacement, Paris, also closed. The elegant sandstone shop premises are as much a part of the furniture of Carlisle as the cathedral they stand opposite. Now they’re empty again.

Is this a symptom of a general illness afflicting Cumbria’s town centres?

Debenhams, the biggest component of The Lanes shopping centre in the city, has reported several years of weak trading nationwide and flat sales for the first half of this year.

At the end of July the centre’s other flagship store, BHS, announced that it was closing – though earlier this month it was granted a reprieve.

An economic recovery that is hard to detect in Cumbria and the onward march of internet shopping seem to be ganging up on our town centre shops.

Or are they? Keith Jackson is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Cumbria’s centre for regional economic development – and he is broadly optimistic.

He says the reprieve for BHS’s Carlisle store is an encouraging sign of the city’s good health.

“BHS decided to close stores across the country and decided not to close Carlisle’s. Carlisle should take strength from that.

“It was the same decision that HMV took at the beginning of the year, when they closed many branches but kept Carlisle’s.

“So Carlisle is doing better than many other towns when it comes to retaining national chains. We don’t win all the time – but a lot of the chains are deciding to stay here.”

And we are not only retaining chain stores but attracting new stores. Paperchase, The Toy Shop and women’s fashion stores Taking Shape and Yours are all recent
arrivals.

John Wills menswear is to open a branch in The Lanes in time for Christmas and women’s retailer Roman Originals will also be opening there. And Primark is definitely on the cards.

When BHS did intend to close its Carlisle store local people spotted an immediate silver lining. They believed the soon to be vacant premises could be just the large, prominent city centre location that Primark has long been looking for.

The chain is eager to come here and Mr Jackson says: “The only reason we haven’t got a Primark is because we haven’t got the right sized premises – not because they don’t want to open here. In a way that’s a good problem to have.”

And those who feel high streets are doomed with the emergence of the internet are unnecessarily pessimistic, he adds. Internet shopping is not the huge threat it’s cracked up to be. Shoppers like to browse, or meet friends in one the plethora of coffee shops, he argues. It’s a social event.

“Primark don’t do internet shopping at all – they are looking for a bricks and mortar store. It’s not all about the internet bandwagon. Around 10 per cent of retail is done online. That still means that 90 per cent is done face to face.”

Where the internet and social media can be useful is in wider marketing. But Mr Jackson suggests new events in town centres, other reasons to come in, could also prove valuable.

Carlisle is always busy when the continental market visits. Other markets could be just as good.

“For example there could be an art fair or a books fair,” he speculates. “They would bring a different kind of clientele into town centres, and when they are there you’ve got an opportunity to sell them other things – a coffee or a beer.”

Any other attractions would be determined by a town’s retailers themselves if Business Improvement Districts, or BIDs, could be set up. When a BID is created, all but the smallest businesses pay a one per cent levy on their business rates into a pot which is used to promote the town centre.

“The businesses themselves get together and decide: ‘This is what we think or feel would really help,’ rather than someone telling them: ‘You should be doing this’.”

Penrith has had a BID group for the past two years, and has used its pot of money for hanging baskets, Christmas lights and signage, among other things.


Viv Dodd Viv Dodd, secretary of Carlisle City Centre Business Group, supports the idea of a BID for Carlisle. Mr Dodd is manager of advisory firm Cumbria Business for Business and also organised the State Management Trail – a tour of the Carlisle pubs which were state-owned and run for most of the last century .

“The continental market is a mixed blessing,” he recalls. “Some people think it’s great, some that are in direct competition with the stallholders aren’t very happy. But there is no doubt about it – it does bring people into Carlisle.”

And if the city retailers formed a BID, they could decide what promotional schemes to lay on.

“The board of the BID would decide how the money was spent and monitor its success. There would be no interference from the city council.

“There could be craft fairs, food and drink festivals or historical
re-enactments – but the choice would be up to the businesses.”

The last time a BID was proposed Carlisle retailers narrowly rejected the idea, with some believing the city council would get to use the pot of money. 

But Mr Dodd says: “We have a guarantee from the council that it will not cut its services to the city centre. The proposal’s coming up again early next year and I hope businesses will vote for it.”

Wigton decided against one, explains Jane Hollick, of Bon-ja special occasion wear. She heads the town’s Chamber of Trade and recalls: “When we looked into it, but it was quite an undertaking.

“And we have lot of voluntary groups in Wigton that already do a lot of work. For example, two volunteers from Wigton Civic Society provided planters for any businesses that wanted one. They’ve made the streets more inviting. ”

Other promotional schemes include a loyalty card among the independent shops. Customers receive a stamp each time they visit one and once they have collected 10 they are entered into a draw for a voucher. “It’s quite popular,” Ms Hollick adds. “And the shops like it.”

A country and craft market which takes place once a month is to go weekly next year. It doesn’t lure as many visitors as she’d like but she says: “When people do come into the town they will normally come back. They’re quite surprised by what we have.”

Ms Hollick is not unduly worried by the internet. Customers tend to check websites before they come out, but they still like to see goods before they buy – so although footfall has dropped, the proportion of visitors to the shop who actually spend money there has risen.

Besides, she adds: “I think shopping has a social side to it, especially for a lot of ladies.

“It’s very insular, sitting at home alone with a laptop. I don’t think the high street will ever go.”