AS I walked around Cinderford this morning I was dismayed to see that, yet again, several shops had either recently closed or were in the process of doing so. During the 13 years that I have lived here this has been a regular feature of the town; shops have opened and closed with regular monotony with only the well established few surviving the test of time. The question is why have they closed? I can only assume it is because they have simply not met the needs of the local residents.
Is it not time, therefore, that the local Chamber of Commerce took the lead and asked the residents of Cinderford to tell them the type of small shop they consider to be missing from the High Street and which would gain long term support if it opened.
This could easily be done through the good offices of this newspaper.
At this point may I venture to suggest that the town does not need any more butchers, estate agents, fish and chip/fast food shops, charity shops or another tattooist!
Nevertheless, there must be a service that is lacking and it would be interesting to hear what people want – excluding Tescos which is a separate issue.
You never know, if a 'wish list' is drawn up and made public some enterprising individual or individuals may step in and fulfil the need. Occupied shops would certainly help to make Cinderford High Street more attractive than it is at present. – D.J. Smale, Abbots View, Buckshaft.