CALLS have been made to help boost a Flintshire town centre blighted by empty shops.
Shotton councillor Ann Minshull is calling on residents to support the remaining shops in Shotton town centre, which currently has 12 empty units.
She has also called on Flintshire Council to bring Shotton’s traffic problems to an end, which it has been claimed is holding back trade.
Cllr Minshull said: “We need to work together to make Shotton a place where shoppers want to shop.
“I think all the residents need to get behind the remaining shops in Shotton to make sure they stay open.”
Nick Edwards, owner of MobComp on Chester Road West, said out of town retail parks and supermarkets had an impact on trade in Shotton.
“People used to go to a supermarket for a tin of beans but now you can live in a supermarket because they’ve got everything there,” he said.
“It’s not what Shotton’s done, we can’t do anything to make it better because the damage has been done with big shops opening in the likes of the area between
Shotton and Queensferry and on Broughton Retail Park.
“Now there are rumours of big shops opening on the RAF Sealand site too.”
The business owner said Wetherspoon’s has been a positive addition to the town, but says other than that Shotton’s future is bleak.
“Shotton is finished, it’s done,” he said. “There’s going to be probably another two or three shops closing within the next month.
“It’s known as a frustrating bottle neck. There’s nobody about because people won’t come here because it’s so much easier to park in places like Broughton.”
Corinne Elliot from Deeside Balloons also thinks Shotton’s traffic problems are holding trade back.
“The road and the parking issues are a major problem,” she said. “There’s no quick parking places where you can nip in and stop. A lot of the pavements are very wide and I think they could have been utilised a lot better to accommodate short-term parking spaces.
“All the shopkeepers would be grateful if work was done to improve it.
“It’s such a busy street but people don’t seem to want to stop.”
Cllr Minshull added: “I would encourage Flintshire Council to help small shop owners in these very difficult times. The traffic has long been identified as a major problem by shopkeepers and residents but we don’t seem to be any closer to solving the problem.”
In September the Leader revealed Flintshire Council highway chiefs had said action to end long-running gridlock in Shotton, Queensferry and Connah’s Quay was in the pipeline.
Neal Cockerton, head of assets and transportation at Flintshire Council, said: “We are nearing the completion of the design for a scheme and propose to consult on these details in the New Year.
“As advised previously, we would look to commence work on the scheme early in 2012.”