South Wales Evening Post - 5 October 2006
One of Swansea's best- known butchers is for the chop after falling victim to The Kingsway roadworks nightmare.
It will be the end of an era on Saturday when Cig Calon Cymru Cyf, formerly known as Percy Watts, in Portland Street closes its doors for good after almost half a century of trading.
And its owner has warned others could follow because the roadworks are driving people out of town.
Struggling traders have already held an Independents Day to promote home-grown businesses and encourage shoppers.
The roadworks will be suspended on November 20 for the hectic Christmas trading period, and will recommence in January. But the respite has come too late for Cig Calon Cymru Cyf .
Owner Enzo Sauro said shoppers had shifted to out-of-town centres because of the one-way traffic scheme in the Kingsway.
"It is crippling the business," he said. "I think trade has gone out of town. They have gone to the out-of- town shopping centres because there is so much going on in the city centre. People are staying away."
He said the decision was a sad one, but he had been forced into it."There is no-one coming through the door," said Mr Sauro.
"I have already sustained eight months at a loss. Now it is time to call it a day."
Worker Peter Morris, who has been with the butchers' for 43 years, said: "It is a sad day. It is the end of an era. The roadworks are hitting everybody. We are not alone. I think there will be a few more going.
"All traders are struggling. Everybody is being driven out of town."
The business is now relocating to Cross Hands, where celebrity chef Dudley Newbury has started work in new premises.
Two staff will relocate to Cross Hands, one is retiring and three part-timers will lose their jobs.
Mr Sauro said: "It is sad because I have invested a lot of money in the property and this is the end result."The roadworks are driving trade out of town."
Meanwhile, another city centre shop is set to close to make way for a bank, although this time it has nothing to do with roadworks.
The Adams children's clothing store in Oxford Street is likely to become a NatWest bank after a ban from Swansea Council was overturned.
Councillors had voted against allowing the store to be converted, but planning inspectors in Cardiff have reversed their decision.
It means the clothing store, which takes up two floors of the building on the corner of Oxford Street and Union Street, is set to move.Swansea Council wanted to keep the unit for retailers, but Helen Verey, of the Planning Inspectorate, said not allowing a change of use could lead to the building being empty.She said Adams had been trying to leave for years.
Ms Verey said: "Their lease runs until 2015 but there is evidence, which the council does not dispute, that they have been seeking to dispose of the lease for five year's because the unit is too large to meet their retail requirements and it trades at a loss."
The company has even offered incentives equivalent to one years' rent to any traders willing to take over the lease.
However, Ms Verey said it was now prepared to cut its losses if it could not find any takers, and said allowing NatWest to take over would be a better option.
"If another tenant cannot be found, Adams say their intention would be to close the shop at an unspecified date and leave the building empty," she said.
"However, should planning permission for a change of use be granted, terms have been agreed under which the lease would be transferred and a branch of the NatWest Bank would occupy the building."
Ms Verey decided to grant permission for the change of use, saying: "There is a real danger that the building could become vacant which would, in my view, have a seriously adverse impact on the vitality of this part of Oxford Street and the city centre in general."
