Another empty shop in Penicuik

musicman wrote:

Noticed yesterday that both MFI & Roseby's are to close at Straiton.

MFI is pulling in its horns following a management buy-out. Roseby's went tits up several weeks ago.

By the way, gonzo ...

gonzo (Aug 28 ) wrote:

Farmfoods as well now!

Just as well I didn't hold my breath.

The 'To Let' boards are up at the Royal Hotel again (no surprise there) and Remax has gone (not much of a surprise there either given the current state of the market).

Belt-tightening time.

I wondered how long before our Remax closed down as several other ones in the area have already packed in. Not very nice for the people running them as they probably thought they had a lucrative and successful business going until the "credit crunch" really hit home. Seems like pubs, property and cars are businesses to stay clear of.
I wonder which property place will be next.....?

The dry cleaners has now closed down to add to all the other empty shops in John Street (Flower Studio, Remax, Insurance shop). When you see the rent they want for these places it is no wonder with £30k+ a year being the going rate for the former newsagents - the owners obviously live on a different planet where there is no "credit crunch". I wonder how long the new units below the flats currently under construction will be empty.

PS: It would be nice to see updated photos of the town centres in the "Midlothian Pictures" section just to see how much has changed in the past couple of years

Yeah, I'll need to get out and about with my camera soon . Part of the problem is that when I go and try to take some pictures in the cold weather, the batteries don't seem to last very long.

There is a planning application in now to change the former bookies in Edinburgh Road (in the Tesco car park) to a hot-food take-away. Just what Penicuik needs as we have so few of them in the town

Another shop becomes vacant in the new units as the Otimeyes optician relocates to the insurance shop (formerly the fruit shop) near the Royal Bank. Easy to guess why they moved with the ridiculous rental rates that LJR charge - at this rate they will end up with only charity shops and the job centre left!
Good to see that the former Neuk cafe in Lamb's Pend is open again as Hogg's Cafe so hopefully they will succeed.

I see Penicuik has yet another victim, I heard it on the news tonight that Rileys snooker club has gone into administrator with some 200 jobs being lost. I had a look on their website and it says that the Penicuik club is now closed. Feel sorry for the people employed there but on the plus side for the residents, at least we can get parked in our own street again.

So yet another place closes down - I wonder what is going to happen with all the empty buildings around the town (Crystal warehouse, Jackson St School, etc etc)?
The other big question is what will happen with the new "retail units" currently under construction in the precinct and how long will they sit around for

I heard recently that we are going to get yet another empty shop as Farmfoods are due to close sometime next month due to the competition from Lidl. It just does not seem to get any better there and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

yeah, I heard before christmas that Farmfoods were suppose to be closing but nothing ever came of it. Apparently Lidl is due to be open by July but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one as it was suppose to be open in February!

Another empty shop!!! L'Amitie cafe is closing down from Monday 4th May for the usual reason - high rent and rates. When will the property owners and the council see sense and realise that businesses cannot survive when paying £50,000 + just to be there

Quote :

Farmfoods are due to close sometime next month due to the competition from Lidl

Would it not make sense to see if people do abandon Farmfoods instead of going to Lidl instead of closing in anticipation? Never been in a Lidl but I know that Farmfoods do have good pricing on some goods, far cheaper than the likes of Tesco..

Quote :

I think we should be encouraging people to come in to the town

The words of Adam Montgomery in the Advertiser refering to the new takeaway planned for the Square.
He is of course right, if it wasn't for takeaways there would be even more empty units.

SamTyler wrote:

Another empty shop!!! L'Amitie cafe is closing down from Monday 4th May for the usual reason - high rent and rates. When will the property owners and the council see sense and realise that businesses cannot survive when paying £50,000 + just to be there

Did a bit of snooping and sniffing today. L'amitie's rent was nothing remotely like £50,000 pa. Not even a wee bit remotely. (Precise details and name of "horse's mouth" withheld....... But I promise ye...... £50,000? - dinnae be silly!)

rubbereye wrote:

Did a bit of snooping and sniffing today. L'amitie's rent was nothing remotely like £50,000 pa. Not even a wee bit remotely. (Precise details and name of "horse's mouth" withheld....... But I promise ye...... £50,000? - dinnae be silly!)

Yes, their rent was not £50k but when you add up the cost of rent, rates, fuel, insurance then it is a huge chunk of money which you have to pay before you even start making any profit to pay important things like wages. You only need to check the websites for the various properties in Penicuik to see how much they are asking (eg. newsagents £30k, new units £32 - £35k and all with regular increases written in to the leases)

I also see the Sibsons Butcher has also now closed due to the economic downturn. It seems crazy to keep building retail unit upon retail unit for them all to sit empty.

Well, it's probably all my fault........ and your's!

I always meant to buy meat there, but Sainsbury's and Tesco's always won..... easier parking.

Sorry to see you go, Brian! Everyone always said your stuff was rxcellent.

Very sad to see yet another small business closed down by the ever-greedy landlords. It is time the government took some action so that rents were forced down to reasonable levels and the quarterly payment of rent in advance was abolished. If the companies who own retail units had to pay full rates plus taxes on the full advertised rent for any empty properties then perhaps they would do something to get them occupied instead of just sitting back.
The High Street now has four large empty premises (Clydesdale Bank, Sibsons plus the two former Scotmid ones) which hardly makes Penicuik look appealing to shoppers.

We can keep blaming the greed of landlords, surely the root problem though is the lack of custom and everyone on this board will be guilty of just heading to a supermarket and getting everything they want under one roof (regardless of quality!). The days of local shops in Penicuik are gone and we can whine and moan but unless they are supported by the masses they are stuffed. Yes the rents are unbelievable and you’d imagine that it is better to get some rent from a tenant instead of units lying empty but that seems to be the way of things the length and breadth of the land.

Anyone know what has happened to Papa McGills takeaway van up by The Countryside? I noticed it's been closed the last few times I've been past in the morning.

The latest plan for the Clydesdale Bank in Penicuik is to convert it into a restaurant - to add to all the other ones in that part of the town! Why does no one have any original and different ideas instead of "more of the same thing" which is all we seem to get,

I regret the demise of the independent "wee shop" as much as anyone, but it's the same almost all over the UK.

A while back, I was in a small town in the South of France where every shop in the town centre was an expensive ladies' outfitter. I can think of another town in France where every shop was given over to leather goods. There's also a seaside town in Lancashire (I forget the name) where the whole front is given over to used car lots.

As far as I could see, these arrangements seemed very successful. If you're female, loaded and in the South of France, you know that you'll find something in town (a). If you're further north and wanting a new leather jacket or a belt or something, town (b)'s reputation will attract you.

And if you're looking for a good used car in Lancashire, head for town (c) where you'll find thousands to look at.

Would it be the end of the world if Penicuik's empty shops all became - say- Tapas Bars, Polish/ German/ Italian/ North African etc restaurants, and Penicuik gained a reputation as a good place to go to eat out?

I know for sure that Le Tout P'ti already gets people coming out from Edinburgh to spend their money here. If we could get more quality restaurants...... Well, why not?

I agree, I'd rather see a building used for some purpose be it a shop, cafe or restaurant than it just lie empty.

Yes, it is better to have something using a building but the problem occurs when there are lots of the same type of business but not enough customers for them all so they don't last. This then results in empty places again after a few months.
It would be nice if Penicuik could market itself as a place to visit for good restaurants since there are plenty of people within a few miles of the town - hopefully everyone can get together to arrange something.