10:16am Friday 27th January 2012
ALTHOUGH our business operates from the city centre, an increasingly small proportion of our trade comes from customers who visit our offices – the vast majority contact us by phone or email. My only concern is for the vitality of the City of York.
I think all would agree that a John Lewis store would be hugely beneficial to our city. An expansion of Monks Cross on this scale, however, would create jobs and economic activity in the short-term, but must be balanced against any potential negative impact on the city centre.
If this application meets local and national planning policy then fair enough, but the impact of increased out-of-town retail space is already being felt on retail demand for the city centre.
The jobs argument should be balanced between new and existing – what would be the point in generating new roles at Monks Cross if it resulted in a similar amount of job losses elsewhere?
The perfect solution would to bring John Lewis to the Piccadilly site. This would encourage more local people to shop in the city, and would also attract many thousands of visitors from further afield.
Kevin Hollinrake, managing director, Hunters, Colliergate, York.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/trade_directory/