"Imagine driving down the motorway with your car windows open and throwing thousands of pounds out.

"That's the only way I can describe my feelings about running a business in Ormskirk."

For all the Borough Council's bullishness it's a tough call for some shop owners - hence this priceless quotation from Lydiate's Josh Gordon who has just closed his Chia Chia organic supermarket and café on Aughton St.

It's not known what the future holds for the premises but Josh was clearly disillusioned when he spoke to QLocal's Roger Blaxall on the eve of the closure on Saturday after just eleven months in business.

And three of the ten businesses featured in this recent Borough Council newsletter have closed - a failure rate of around 30 per cent.

It's such a shame really is but there's so much competition in terms of cafe's in Ormskirk now. Businesses are also not helped by carparks being sold to private companies. The council has to step up and do more for local businesses this is peoples livelyhoods at stake and yet a property owner couldn't care less who is in the shop/office downstairs as long as the council allows them to have student accomodation above.

Cant always blame the council, or landlords, whoever takes a business premises has to do his homework ! So if you try to open a cafe in a village that already has a dozen, you have to come up with a pretty special usp to attract trade otherwise you have already lost before you are to open ! It is common sense !

I think you obviously didn't read my post properly because I did mention a number of reasons for why the business has not succeeded.

Well I think as change of use was granted last week for it to become a bar
I’m pretty sure I can guess what the future holds for it ?
Previously change of use had been refused on a number of occasions due to aughton street being a main shopping area but that now seems to been abandoned?

Why can’t you blame the Council it was they that at the last election said if you vote Labour we will make a difference, we’ll you got what you voted for! And look at what they had to offer! And don’t think for a moment they have abandoned their long term discredited development plans! It’s time to get rid of this lacklustre Council. It’s not the quantity of councillors but the quality!


It’s important for the survival of our town that you get out and vote before it becomes just an enclave of Edge Hill.

You get what you vote for....It’s time for a change.....vote independent

sorry , don't know what you're on about , i didn't comment on your comment, i only make a general observation on what people are usually moaning about ! i have had a business in ormskirk for 10 years and because of age i have ended it. Look how much rubbish there are in the streets of ormskirk, do you find that attractive ? and dont blame the students, the other day i was passing by the side entrance of O'Brians and some well groomed Freemasons were flicking their cigarettes buds on the street before entering the building !

Originally Posted by JohnMacca

It's such a shame really is but there's so much competition in terms of cafe's in Ormskirk now. Businesses are also not helped by carparks being sold to private companies. The council has to step up and do more for local businesses this is peoples livelyhoods at stake and yet a property owner couldn't care less who is in the shop/office downstairs as long as the council allows them to have student accomodation above.

I have been in business in Ormskirk for over 30 years and am a bit fed up with people blaming others for the demise of their businesses. The high street has been in decline for a number of years not only in other towns in this country but overseas as well. The owner of Chia Chia believed that the student population would make up a large part of his customers having spoken to him while he was setting up the business.This did not happen. He knew his rent and rates before taking on the premises as so do others and yet many later say ' The rent and rates were too high'. Exactly what should the council do to help small businesses ? Please tell us.

Originally Posted by australia

I have been in business in Ormskirk for over 30 years and am a bit fed up with people blaming others for the demise of their businesses. The high street has been in decline for a number of years not only in other towns in this country but overseas as well. The owner of Chia Chia believed that the student population would make up a large part of his customers having spoken to him while he was setting up the business.This did not happen. He knew his rent and rates before taking on the premises as so do others and yet many later say ' The rent and rates were too high'. Exactly what should the council do to help small businesses ? Please tell us.

Well I thought the first part I written is pretty well clear, It's 2019 and we're still charging people to park their car for 30 minutes. You tell me how in the 21st century this will ever compete with internet retail, would you pay to visit a website? Before you jump on my back and tell me that this is a cafe, it makes no difference customers are drawn to the bigger shops simply because they provide more advertising and then they may pop into a cafe's during their visit. With the new Lidl slowly approaching I am afraid to tell you this will become more of a town centre than town centre itself and I look foward to telling you I told you so. I would also suggest that the council and property owners do more for their businesses, by simply partnering with a service that makes sure new buinesses have a real business plan in place. With the right education there is no reason for why none of them should not succeed but further to my previous comment I will reinstate, that it is simply not good enough for a property owner or the local council to simply take money from from a business without a care in the world as to whether they succed or not. I will never have a problem with students and I appreciate they love our town so much but I do have a problem with landlords that are simply not bothered if their office/shop downstairs is filled because their costs are covered by the accomodation upstairs.

Originally Posted by JohnMacca

Well I thought the first part I written is pretty well clear, It's 2019 and we're still charging people to park their car for 30 minutes. You tell me how in the 21st century this will ever compete with internet retail, would you pay to visit a website? Before you jump on my back and tell me that this is a cafe, it makes no difference customers are drawn to the bigger shops simply because they provide more advertising and then they may pop into a cafe's during their visit. With the new Lidl slowly approaching I am afraid to tell you this will become more of a town centre than town centre itself and I look foward to telling you I told you so. I would also suggest that the council and property owners do more for their businesses, by simply partnering with a service that makes sure new buinesses have a real business plan in place. With the right education there is no reason for why none of them should not succeed but further to my previous comment I will reinstate, that it is simply not good enough for a property owner or the local council to simply take money from from a business without a care in the world as to whether they succed or not. I will never have a problem with students and I appreciate they love our town so much but I do have a problem with landlords that are simply not bothered if their office/shop downstairs is filled because their costs are covered by the accomodation upstairs.

That has to be one of the most obnoxious replies i've ever seen on here.
"Would you pay to visit a website?" No, but I generally pay more than £1 for postage when I order online. Outweighing the cost of parking in the town. If you took away parking charges in the town, it would just become an open playing field for hospital staff, university staff and students and commuters using the trains to park all day free of charge with nobody else being able to use the car parks. It is an utterly ridiculous suggestion.

Do you have any evidence that that final statement is true? Ormskirk has a far superior occupation rate than the vast majority of similar town centres. The majority of the empty units we have, actually don't have student accomodation above them, would have thought you would have had a good view through the windows of these units, up there on your mighty high horse.

Originally Posted by minorityvoice

That has to be one of the most obnoxious replies i've ever seen on here.
"Would you pay to visit a website?" No, but I generally pay more than £1 for postage when I order online. Outweighing the cost of parking in the town. If you took away parking charges in the town, it would just become an open playing field for hospital staff, university staff and students and commuters using the trains to park all day free of charge with nobody else being able to use the car parks. It is an utterly ridiculous suggestion.

Do you have any evidence that that final statement is true? Ormskirk has a far superior occupation rate than the vast majority of similar town centres. The majority of the empty units we have, actually don't have student accomodation above them, would have thought you would have had a good view through the windows of these units, up there on your mighty high horse.

I love this obnoxious remark really I do, people on here claiming all these years of experience of business within town centre. Unable to come up with any solutions to the problems town centre faces and making remarks "it's their own fault for not doing their research" or words to this affect, they then object to views or opinions of others that may help and have the audacity to call them the obnoxious one. Well I'll keep this short and sweet for you we'll come back and review this three years from now and see if their is more success on Hattersley way/Burscough Ringtail Park/Atkinson Road or the town centre, If I am wrong i'll hold my hands up and say you were right.

I have one more useful tip for entrepreneurs. With wordpress payment processing plugin you can install a button which allows your customers to pay for your products or services via your website. Pretty handy, isn't it? And it's also simple to do.