Latest news with #Staveley
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Canalside development project completed at Staveley's canal basin
A Derbyshire town is looking for businesses to move in after the opening of a new two-storey canalside Moorings building is part of the Staveley Town Deal, a £25m regeneration programme aided by funding from central government that began last year.A total of £3.5m of the £4.5m cost was provided by the fund, with the remaining £1m covered by Derbyshire County authority said it expected the new site "to create between 40 and 60 new jobs". This building is part of the an 85-hectare business park based on the site of the old Markham Colliery, with the regeneration project also hoping to attract visitors to Chesterfield Canal and the surrounding Reaney, county council cabinet member for economic development and regeneration, said the Moorings "will be a fantastic waterside destination for both local people and visitors to enjoy"."We're inviting contact from retail, dining and other businesses looking to relocate or expand into this purpose-built space, and we've already received considerable interest from a number of potential tenants," he said.
Scottish Sun
28-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
The Original Factory Shop is shutting EIGHT stores today after launching 80% off closing sales – is your local going?
We reveal which other stores are set to close in coming weeks SHUTTERS DOWN The Original Factory Shop is shutting EIGHT stores today after launching 80% off closing sales – is your local going? THE Original Factory Shop is pulling down the shutters on eight of its high street branches today, with up to 80% off in massive closing down sales. The budget retailer, which sells everything from fashion and fragrance to homeware and gifts, is shutting up shop at locations across the UK as part of a major restructuring effort. 1 The Original Factory Shop is closing eight stores today, Saturday 28 June Shops in Pershore, Shaftesbury, Kidwelly, Arbroath, Normanton, Chester Le Street, Peterhead and Perth will all close for good by the end of today, Saturday, June 28. Here are all the ones closing down today: Perth Chester Le Street, County Durham Arbroath, Angus Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire Pershore, Worcestershire Normanton, West Yorkshire Peterhead, Aberdeenshire Shaftesbury, Dorset It comes just days after the Milford Haven branch in Pembrokeshire shut on Thursday, with three more stores already lined up to go next month, including the Staveley in Cumbria, Cupar in Fife, and Middlewich in Cheshire. Massive clearance sales have been launched at affected branches with prices slashed by as much as 80% on stock like beauty, pet products, jewellery and shoes. Shoppers at the Middlewich site have spotted some of the steepest discounts, while customers in Normanton and Pershore have also snapped up huge savings ahead of closing time. One local, reacting to news that the Arbroath store is among the latest to go, said: 'Another one bites the dust on the high street. "Going to be a ghost town soon enough.' Another said the Pershore closure marked 'the end of an era.' The wave of closures follows a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) launched earlier this year after private equity firm Modella Capital bought the chain in February. Modella, which also owns Hobbycraft and WHSmith's high street shops, is trying to renegotiate rents on 88 stores to keep the business afloat. River Island confirms which 33 stores are shutting as a further 70 at risk in huge shake-up – is your local going? But The Original Factory Shop has warned that a 'number of loss-making stores' would have to shut to secure its future. A spokesperson said: 'Closing stores is always a tough decision… but this is dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business.' The Original Factory Shop has already closed more than a dozen branches since the start of the year, including sites in Harwich, Bodmin, Chepstow and Taunton. The three stores that are set to close in coming weeks are: Staveley, Cumbria – July 12 Cupar, Fife – July 27 Middlewich, Cheshire – TBC HIGH STREET STRUGGLES The Original Factory Shop is not the only retailer suffering across the high street. The high street has faced a tough run in recent years, with online shopping booming while in-store sales slump and operating costs soar. In 2024 alone, more than 13,000 high street stores were shuttered for good, according to the Centre for Retail Research. It is also predicting the number of store closures to rise this year, blaming the increase on a hike to employer National Insurance contributions and the national minimum wage. The Centre has described the sector as going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash This year, Beales, one of Britain's oldest department stores, launched a closing down sale before shutting its last remaining shop after more than 140 years. The company shut its branch in Poole's Dolphin Centre last month. Beales chief executive Tony Brown blamed the "devastating impact" of the rise in national insurance contributions and the higher minimum wage for the store closure. Meanwhile, high street fashion chain New Look has closed stores as it scales back its UK footprint. It is understood to be shutting nearly a quarter of its 364 shops.s. Reports suggest that the company has been forced to accelerate the pace of store closures due to tax changes in the Autumn Budget. Meanwhile, Huttons in London shut its store in the Putney Exchange due to excessive energy costs. The gift shop became a local icon after it opened in the 1990s.
National Observer
05-06-2025
- General
- National Observer
A year of protection: BC First Nations secure mining pause on ancestral lands
First Nations in northern British Columbia have secured a one-year pause on new mining claims across a vast stretch of their traditional territory, a move Indigenous leaders called 'history-making' for Indigenous-led land management. Gillian Staveley, a member of Kaska Dene and director of culture and land stewardship for the Dena Kayeh Institute, said the agreement marks a big step forward. 'This is a really important beginning,' Staveley said. 'We're really focusing on the work that's moving us forward toward what we're striving for, where Kaska leadership is respected and reconciliation is honestly more than just a word.' The BC government announced Tuesday that for the next year, no new mining claims can be staked or registered in the region covered by the agreement. The pause will give the five First Nations, including the Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, Gitanyow and Nisga'a Nations, and the province time to work together on a land-use plan and gather input on how the land should be protected, used and managed in future. Sensitive ecosystems, rivers, lakes and wildlife habitats in the area will be protected from new industrial disturbance while the pause is in effect. Salmon spawning streams, old-growth forests and areas important for caribou and moose will not face new mining impacts. Areas of cultural and spiritual significance to the Kaska — burial grounds, traditional hunting and gathering areas and sacred sites — will be protected from new mining while their importance is documented and considered in planning. Zones for different uses — such as protected areas, sustainable forestry, tourism, or potential future mining — will be mapped out. At the heart of the agreement is Dene Kʼéh Kusān, a vast wild area in northern British Columbia. In the Kaska Dena language, the name means 'Always Will Be There.' The region is one of the largest intact natural landscapes in the province, bigger than Vancouver Island, with no roads or power lines and home to caribou, moose and mountain goats. It also has thousands of Kaska cultural sites and ancient trails. "We're really focusing on the work that's moving us forward toward what we're striving for, where Kaska leadership is respected and reconciliation is honestly more than just a word," said Gillian Staveley, Dena Kayeh Institute. 'The farther north you get, there are no roads, there are no power lines, there are no train tracks. There's nothing there, but just the way that the creator intended it to be,' said Harlan Schilling, deputy chief of the Daylu Dena Council and the CEO of the First Nations Centre of Excellence with the BC Assembly of First Nations. "You go over anywhere in the world, and there's not many places like that left." Kaska leaders have been working for years to see Dene Kʼéh Kusān officially protected as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA). The pause on new mining claims is seen as a key step toward making that vision a reality. By stopping new mining for a year, First Nations and the government have time to work together on a land use plan that could lead to long-term protection. 'It's just one year, and it's a strategy,' Staveley said. 'It was done strategically so that we can support the meaningful land use planning that needs to happen on the land base within the next year, so it doesn't impact existing projects.' Leaders say some areas are sacred and must be protected, while others may be open to responsible development, but only with their consent. 'Regardless of what happens here, the Kaska will never stop trying to protect that region, but there are always opportunities to sit down and discuss what responsible resource development can look like in other areas of our traditional territory. But that can obviously never be done without Kaska's consent,' Staveley said. The process behind the agreement reflects years of dialogue with the provincial government, neighbouring First Nations and local stakeholders. Kaska leaders said the collaboration is a model for how governments and Indigenous nations can work together, even amid geopolitical tensions and debates over consultation. 'The whole world economically changed … when the Trump administration had gotten in,' Schilling said. 'But we're very grateful we had a team working on this for years. So, even with the slowdown in staking, the talks and negotiations started months, if not years, ago.' The stakes go beyond economic and environmental benefits but also help future generations restore and inherit their language, traditions and land. 'My six-year-old little girl speaks Kaska way better than I do now,' Schilling said. 'This IPCA is going to help us as Kaska re-identify some of the things that were lost to us during the generations of the residential schools.' First Nations and the province will work under a tight timeline to finalize a land use plan. Existing mining projects and claims can continue to get permits and continue exploring until the planning is complete. As the First Nations and province continue on this process, the pause is being closely watched as a possible model for reconciliation and Indigenous-led stewardship across Canada, leaders say. 'This is about showing there are ways to do this right,' Staveley said. 'We call this land – Dena Kayeh, which means the people's country, and it's really an area for all people to enjoy, and it's a very inclusive and forward-thinking approach to how we can steward our land better.'
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major discount store with 178 shops confirms it will shut ANOTHER site as future of dozens of stores hangs in balance
A MAJOR retailer with 178 stores is shutting another location in weeks as the future of dozens more hangs in the balance. The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) in Peterhead, Scotland, will pull down its shutters for the final time next month. 1 The closure comes just weeks after the retailer's owner, Modella Capital launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 of its stores. The Peterhead store is likely to close in June, according to a store member, The Press and Journal reports. The retail unit has also been listed for rent on property consultancy website TSA Property Consultants. Shoppers and locals finding out the branch is shutting for good have been left gutted. One said on Facebook: "I feel for the staff, they are always very nice." Meanwhile, a third added: "Not long opened." It comes as two other TOFS stores are set to shut - one in Milford Haven, Wales, and another in Staveley, Derbyshire. The Staveley store will welcome in customers for the final time on July 12 while an exact closure date has not been confirmed for the Milford Haven branch. A closing down sale has also been launched at the Milton Haven site with up to 30% off. Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down What is happening at TOFS? Modella Capital, a private equity firm which now owns TOFS, drew up plans to renegotiate rents at 88 of the company's stores in April. The proposals come as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). A CVA allows businesses to explore opportunities to survive including negotiating rents with landlords. Businesses usually take out a CVA to avoid having to close stores and prevent themselves from going bust. History of The Original Factory Shop FOUNDED in 1969 by the Black family in Keighley, the first shop was part of Peter Black's retail network. Initially, it focused on selling surplus soap produced by one of Black's factories, offering local communities great value. Over the years, TOFS evolved from its humble beginnings, expanding its product range to include clothing, homeware, beauty products, toys, and more. It became known for offering a diverse selection of well-known brands at discounted prices. The company grew steadily, reaching 185 stores by 2011 and expanding its headquarters and warehouse in Burnley to accommodate its increasing needs. In 2007, the chain was acquired by private equity firm Duke Street Capital. Since then, TOFS has undergone various transformations, including store closures and openings, as it adapted to the changing retail landscape. In February 2025, Modella Capital, the owner of Hobbycraft, acquired TOFS. However, if the CVA is unsuccessful, it could lead to TOFS stores closing and staff losing their roles. Specifically, around 176 head office staff and warehouse employees working for TOFS could reportedly lose their jobs. TOFS has closed more than a dozen stores over the past 12 months. HIGH STREET STRUGGLES UK high streets have been in decline for years due to the onset of online shopping. High inflation in recent years has chipped away at shoppers' wallets and purses too. A recent report from PwC noted a "continued move away from the high street" by retailers in 2024 with shops outside of town and city centres seeing less closures and more openings. It said this was being driven by both leisure outlets and larger retailers shifting from high streets to retail parks which offer shoppers "greater convenience". The Centre for Retail Research said more than 13,000 high street stores shut in 2024, with more to come in 2025. The centre's analysis found that 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut their doors for good over the calendar year. Of these, around 11,340 independent shops were shut during the year - a 45.5% jump against 2023. The centre estimates around 17,350 stores will shut in 2025 too, linking the rise to hikes in employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) and national minimum wage. Since April, employers have had to pay NICs at a rate of 15%, up from 13.8%, starting from £5,000 instead of £9,100.
