Businesses continue to choose Chorley town centre

Chorley is bucking the trend when it comes to the number of empty shops in the town centre.

Figures revealed this week show that the town centre vacancy rates in Chorley are below the national average proving that new shops and businesses are continuing to set up in the town centre.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, who oversees economic development and the town centre at Chorley Council, said: “The council has worked hard to attract new businesses to the town centre and it’s great to see that we are doing better than many other town centres up and down the country.

“The support the council offers businesses including grants, advice, workshops and networking has proven to be very effective and lots of businesses are taking advantage of these opportunities.  We've also bought and taken control of Market Walk shopping centre, which has allowed us to do more to attract businesses to the town and with two more shops opening in the New Year, the shopping centre will be full again.

"However, if we want businesses and the town centre to succeed in the future we can't stand still.  The next few years will see some of the most dramatic changes ever seen in the town centre with the Market Walk and town centre improvements, the creation of the new youth zone and the retirement village on Fleet Street and we strongly believe that these changes will attract even more businesses and boost Chorley's local economy even further."

The overall vacancy rate in Chorley town centre including shops, pubs, leisure, developments and offices, currently stands at 6.8 per cent – that’s lower than the national average of 10.1 per cent and much better than other neighbouring towns, with the regional average at 19.6 per cent.

“If we’re going to continue to have a thriving town centre we need local people to shop in Chorley and support their local traders,” added Councillor Bradley

“Chorley has some fantastic independent traders who offer something different to other neighbouring towns and cities, as well as a few national retailers, so I’d urge people to visit the town centre and see what’s on offer.

"We will continue to back local traders and invest in the town centre and I hope that by doing that Chorley town centre will continue to be a great place to shop, visit and spend time."