WARRINGTON retailers are fighting back following recent reports suggesting the town is one of the worst in the country for high street closures.
The data, supplied by a barcode company seeking to promote their services, ranked Warrington in the bottom five places in the UK for retail closures when compared to population size, with a total of 480 closures, but failed to highlight that much of the data had been sourced pre-Covid.
One of the first to question the data was local award-winning greengrocer Rob Leicester on Warrington Market: “It says 480 businesses have closed over the past 10 years buit doesn’t give any figures to say how many have opened? We opened seven-and-a-half years ago and replaced a business that had closed. Since then, we have had the new market open, Time Square open, The Hive open, so there have been many new businesses opening.”
Kyle from CBK Coffee, based in The Hive, who has worked at three other outlets in the town centre prior to opening his own business four months ago, recently experienced his best days trading and believes Warrington has lots to offer compared to neighbouring towns like Widnes, St Helens and Runcorn.
Business is also brisk at family-run The Hive Carpets and Flooring, who are experiencing good footfall. “Business is booming so everyone must need their flooring doing,” said proprietor Emma McCarthy.
The Hive Carpets & Flooring
Andrea Morley, Warrington Business Improvement District Manager, said: “Despite the wider challenges facing UK high streets, Warrington town centre is seeing positive momentum. Footfall has increased year-on-year by 3%, with visitor spend rising each year. Our ambitious events programme has been critical in driving people back into the town centre, with some events experiencing audience growth of up to 30%. The strong mix of retail, leisure and hospitality on offer has also been key, helping us deliver an impressive 22% increase in tourists to Warrington town centre. This is something many other towns have struggled to achieve, with some yet to recover fully since the pandemic. It is also important to note that some of the data sources referenced in the Liverpool Echo article relates to a report covering 2017–2019. This does not reflect the last five years of growth and recovery in Warrington and has little relevance to the realities of 2025.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “We’re incredibly proud of our town centre, which continues to be a vibrant, first-class destination for residents and visitors from Warrington and beyond. We work closely with our retail businesses through the Warrington Business Improvement District (BID) to ensure we offer excellent value and support.
“The heart of our town has seen significant, transformative investment in recent years, with our flagship development, Time Square, providing a complete leisure and commercial hub featuring a state-of-the-art cinema, fantastic restaurants and bars.
“Time Square is also home to the award-winning Warrington Market —a lively, modern destination that has been lauded nationally for its design and its exceptional mix of independent food, drink, and retail traders.
“Additionally, our established retail anchor, Golden Square, remains a thriving, popular centre for shoppers, consistently hosting well-known high street names and attracting strong footfall.
“The town’s retail offer is supported and amplified by an excellent, bustling events programme, attracting thousands of people. Over the summer, our Makers Markets, later opening hours and cultural events such as Warrington Mela, created strong footfall and a fantastic atmosphere for our retailers.
“Warrington town centre has excellent parking facilities. In 2019, we opened a new multi-storey car park at Time Square. This high-quality, modern facility is built to the secure ParkMark standard, and the 1,200 spaces it provides means visitors are always able to find a parking space. There are parking charges, but these aim to be affordable and are certainly not excessive compared to other areas in the region.
“We believe our town centre is a welcoming, business-friendly, attractive, and thriving place. We’re confident in the future of our town, but we are always looking to improve and welcome all feedback from our businesses and the community.”
The Market provides a low-cost, low start-up investment opportunities, flexible terms, guaranteed footfall and a host of other support, often not available on the high street and the purpose-built, £14 million pound facility attracts over 1.4million visitors a year.
The market continues to buck the national trend, with a 96% occupancy rate, driven by a modern facility, strong footfall and competitive terms, (which are some of the most favourable in the industry).
A good balance of quality, independent traders, a strong food and beverage offer and a diverse events and marketing programme all contribute to the market’s ongoing success.
