Town's ongoing challenges blamed for shop closure

A woman who is closing her shop in Dudley says there has been one challenge after another for businesses in the town.

Cronin's Books and Bits, a family run gift and collectibles store, is to end its bricks and mortar presence in Dudley after five years, switching to online trading instead.

Lianne Cronin opened the shop in Churchill Shopping Centre the day before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, but despite coming through that setback, said the business could not survive on the high street any longer.

She pointed to ongoing works on the Metro Extension and Dudley Interchange, as well as parking charges being introduced by Dudley Council. The authority said help was on the way.

Patrick Harley, leader of the Conservative-run council, said the new Dudley Ice Rink was one of the ways footfall would return. A planning application is expected to be submitted in coming months.

But that may not be soon enough for businesses which say they are feeling the pinch of difficult trading conditions.

Family business B D Price in the Sedgley area of Dudley borough, which sells toys and bikes, has also announced it will close its doors.

According to Ms Cronin, such an experience can be emotional.

"I've cried on numerous occasions over the last couple of weeks because you feel like you've failed and nobody cares," she said.

"We were doing really well and then the bus station shut [in 2024] and custom fell drastically.

"Then parking charges came in and it felt like one thing after another."

Ms Cronin, who runs the business with husband Marc, said: "I'm excited about the improvements that are coming and when they finish it will be excellent.

"But I'd like the council to put the time and effort into what we've already got."

Harley said he would make "a series of announcements" in the summer which would help high streets.

"We have had to unturn every stone we possibly can in order to stabilise this borough's finances," he said.

"We've done that far quicker than we anticipated. We now have money in our reserves and as we move forward we want to help small businesses as much as we can.

"There is an unprecedented amount of regeneration work going on in Dudley at the moment and I know that is unbalancing for a lot of businesses, but once that work is complete we will have plenty more footfall.

"The tram, the bus interchange and the 3,000 capacity ice rink will increase footfall."

Shoppers in Dudley have lamented the loss of big name brands, including the closure of Holland and Barrett last month.

Lee O'Sullivan said: "When I was a kid it was booming in Dudley. Now you only see places to let, it's a crying shame.

"I shop in Bilston because there's free parking there."

Another shopper, who did not wish to be named, called Dudley a "ghost town".

"I don't understand the renovations with the tram because there's nothing here," she said.

"All the money they've spent on it they could've spent on renovations for Dudley instead.

"We've got the Black Country museum and Dudley Zoo which is amazing but other than that, we've got nothing."

Sonia Kumar, Dudley's Labour MP, said high streets were the area's "backbone".

"There are powers from central government to get these empty shops back open because they have been closed for too long," she said. "This will help us to take back control of our high streets."

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