Shoppers feel they are being “kept in the dark” over the future of the high street
Shoppers feel they are being “kept in the dark” over the future of the high street
Shoppers feel they are being “kept in the dark” almost two years on from the closure of a busy retail precinct in a popular south Liverpool district.
The hustle and bustle of Mather Avenue was reduced to silence in the summer of 2023 when four businesses were shuttered after their leases were forfeited by Liverpool Council. Operators were initially told new terms could take up to three months to renegotiate, but now a lack of movement has been bemoaned by shoppers.
The shops unexpectedly closed down included Ambience hair salon, where Kim Lee has worked for more than a decade. Other impacted businesses include Avenue News, Avenue Delight and Sully’s café which are all run by dad Abdul Suliman, and his two sons Jamal and Amir.
A note, addressed to Kim’s late mum at the time, said Liverpool Council had taken possession of the premises and changed the locks. The note added that the rent was 21 days overdue and anyone attempting to re-enter the premises may be liable to criminal prosecution.
Lynne Smith is one of those left without access to the shopping area and told the ECHO of her frustration. She said: “These shops are still closed and the local community feel they are being kept in the dark, we cannot find any answers to what is going to happen.
“There are plenty of rumours going around but nothing substantial. We were told early last year a dentist, another coffee shop and another takeaway were going to open and that the chemist, the only shop open on the parade, was going to expand into the shop next door. We are desperate to know what is happening, the community needs our local convenience store back. It is missed so much by so many.”
Cllr Andrew Makinson has put pressure on Liverpool Council to get the shops back open again. He said: “For over a year the council has been promising that they are just finalising legal agreements with new tenants. Last January it was promised that new businesses would be open within six weeks. A year later nothing has changed.
“Liverpool Council are pouring money down the drain by taking so long to get new tenants into these shops. The fear is that the businesses will get fed up of waiting for the council to get its act together and walk away.
“The community around Mather Avenue are suffering the blight of boarded up shops, and without anywhere to buy a newspaper or a pint of milk. Local people are missing out on the jobs these businesses could provide, and taxpayers face higher council tax bills to make up for the rent the council isn’t collecting.”
A Liverpool Council spokesperson told the ECHO some of the units are now in the process of being refitted while others are having leases drawn up. The local authority is focused on getting the site fully open for business and supported through refurbishment.
