A Welshpool town centre yarns, haberdashery and fabrics shop has blamed its upcoming closure on online shopping and parking issues 

Karen Rix, owner of Funky Purple Goat, has announced that the shop in Cumberland Place will shut on Saturday, June 15, after running the business for seven years.

She cited the rise of online shopping as a big reason behind the business has been struggling, but also criticised Powys County Council’s parking policy for drawing shoppers away from the town centre.

Karen said: “We first moved into this premises in the summer of 2020, having ran for a few years as a market stall and a smaller shop in Puzzle Square before that.

“We moved in hoping things would pick up in the aftermath of the pandemic, but they never reached the point where the business would be sustainable. It's been frustrating.

“It’s been a struggle for the past few years, as we’ve been waiting for the past four years as we’ve continued to hope that things would pick up again and waited for the market to improve.

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“When we first moved it seemed like a good opportunity but with our rent having doubled we simply were not pulling in the business needed to make up for it. I think the environment has changed too as people got more into the habit of online shopping in a post-pandemic world.

“I think a big part of the fault is with Powys County Council for raising the price of car parking around town. No one wants to spend money to park for a casual look around town when there’s a resource like Tesco’s that they can park at for free, do their shopping, be on their way and then go online for the more niche services.

“It has a knock-on effect. If people are less inclined to visit the high street then there’s zero chance they’ll discover a new shop in a location like this.

“We’re already battling a lack of signage, which I think doesn’t draw enough attention to Puzzle Square as a home for several businesses. But if people aren’t on the High Street at all the problem is even worse.

“Even this morning (Monday, May 20) we had someone come in and said to us that they had no idea we were here.

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"It's upsetting but the amount of well wishers and support I've received since making the announcement has been heartening, and I will continue to do alteration work from home."

In response to claims about parking fees drawing people away from the town centre, a spokesperson for Powys County Council said: "We recognise that in these times of austerity Powys town centres, along with those across the United Kingdom and beyond, are facing financial difficulties, however, data shows that the recent change to car park charges have not had a significant impact on the number of tickets being sold in our car parks across the county.

"We are currently in the process of finalising our cross party and wider stakeholder working group car park report and these recommendations will be considered by cabinet in due course."