Trader outlines new hopes for Worksop town centre

Helen Parry, who runs a shared space for vintage arts and crafts retailers on Carlton Road, believes a vibrant town centre needs multiple retailers selling similar products in the same area to keep shoppers interested.

The mum-of-three took out a ten-year lease on Carlton House - a former council office building dating back to the 1800s - four years ago.

Carlton House Vintage, Arts, Crafts and Home Interiors Centre is home to 60 different retailers - with more than one sharing the same rooms in some cases.

The three-storey building features 15 different rooms where shoppers can rummage among second-hand jewellery, furniture, sweets, art, soaps, candles and much much more before taking a break with a coffee and a slice of cake at its cafe.

Helen - who worked as a HR and business development consultant for 15 years before she took on the old building - describes shopping at Carlton House as ‘experiential’ and a model for the high street.

She said: “If you look in the town centre in Worksop it needs that diversity which supermarkets have predominantly taken away from the high streets.

“People are wanting that nostalgia of having a shopkeeper, having things weighed out for them.

“They want to take the time and have a chat because there’s a lot of very lonely people - especially in the week days.

“People visited the fishmonger and bakery because they said hello and knew their names.”

Though Helen admits brand names are important she says high streets like Worksop’s need a mix of shops and plenty of competition.

She said: “We are stronger together - there’s nothing wrong with having a strip of mobile phone and vape shops right next to each other.

“We should have multiple clothes shops, multiple shoe shops, multiple butchers and bakers.

“If you treat the concept of Carlton House as a high street, you have people who do well, people who do very well and some who do ok - that’s retail on the high street.”

However Helen also points out how important it is to appreciate how much Worksop already has going for it.

She said: “Being quite well-travelled, I know that Worksop is doing alright.

“It hasn’t yet tipped too far into a proper decline - some councils are doing their job however this one cares.”

Helen sits on the Worksop Town Commission - bringing together businesses, employers, transport providers, landlords and retailers to increase Worksop’s retail and entertainment to make it a town people want to visit.

Its chairman Michael Harfleet - managing director of Cerealto who employ 250 people in Worskop - says it is vitally important to improve the community’s perception of the town.

He said: “A lot of the community think Worksop is a bit of a dump.

“Employment is virtually full in Worksop - unemployment is less than one per cent and most people don’t realise that.

“Some of the things that Worksop already has are worth millions - the canal presents a real opportunity in terms of new restaurants and bars.

“And then there’s Sherwood Forest and all the golf clubs nearby.

“There are so many new property developments ideal for people who work in Sheffield or Nottingham.

“It’s so easy to walk down the high street and point out all the vape and phone shops - but there are actually a lot of interesting shops.

“Once people start thinking more positively about the town centre and its resources things will get better.”

As part of its mission to bring people back in to Worksop town centre the commission hopes to organise a park and ride into the town centre during this year’s half-marathon - with a screen on the town hall wall where people can watch the event along with stalls and entertainment.