Business owner's plea to council to 'revitalise' Worksop after flood-damage

Owner Marina Jewitt, pictured with the hampers and gifts that they offer at Aniseed Rock.

Aniseed Rock is a ‘bright welcoming place to shop’ but after extensive damage from the recent floods, the sweet shop has seen a rapid drop in customers.

John Jewitt, 69 and Marina Jewitt, 57, both from Blyth, have been running Aniseed Rock for three years – offering traditional British sweets and American candy as well as bespoke hampers and gifts.

John said: “After the flooding in the town centre of Worksop on November 7 our business premises was severely affected.

Aniseed Rock, sweet shop on Central Avenue, Worksop is open again after the recent floods.

“We were unable to trade for approximately just over three weeks. This had an adverse effect on our business at what should be our busiest trading period of the year.

“We lost a substantial amount of stock and some fixtures and fittings but most of all the loss of income, the shop had to be stripped out completely so we could carry out repairs.

“Unfortunately we could not get Insurance cover due to the fact that the business is close to the River Ryton and is designated a flood risk area by Insurance companies.

“This was a stressful time for us and we were worried if we would recover from our loss of revenue and future business.”

Now, the owners are calling on authorities to ‘revitalise’ Worksop, John added: “We finally opened our doors on Saturday November 30 after being closed for over three weeks - we didn't know what to expect.

“We are happy to say that quite a few of our existing customers have supported us but sadly the footfall has not returned to what was before the flood.

“Bassetlaw Council need to revitalise our town centre - it's beginning to look shabby particularly after the flood.

“I would like to invite the councillors and the new MP for Bassetlaw to come and talk with us about ideas we have as the custodians of our town centre - we should have our say.”