A POPULAR independent clothing shop in Bournemouth town centre will be closing down due to pedestrianisation, says the owner. Richmond Classics on Albert Road has announced it will be closing its doors for good as a result of the council s decision to pedestrianise Beale Place several years ago. Owner Keith McNicol has put up a sign in the shop window blaming councillor Mike Greene, portfolio holder for sustainability and transport at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, for the stores closure. The destination fashion store has been trading in Bournemouth since 1988 and opened its Albert Road shop in 2003. Following the development and pedestrianisation of Beale Place and the closure of Albert Road and Yelverton Road in 2016, owner of Richmond Classics, Mr McNicol told the Daily Echo how he has seen an 80 per cent decline in footfall which has led to him taking the decision to close.
FOLLOWING their meeting with Bank of Ireland (BoI) management over the upcoming closures of some branches, Fermanagh and Omagh District councillors have described the decision to close the Lisnaskea BoI branch as “yet another attack on rural Fermanagh”. On Friday, April 16, Sinn Féin’s Sheamus Greene, UUP councillor Victor Warrington, Alliance councillor Stephen Donnelly, and Independent Emmet McAleer met online with officials from the bank to discuss the Lisnaskea branch, that is due to be closed down on July 7. In a statement, Councillor Greene pointed out that the closure will leave only one BoI branch in the whole of Fermanagh, and said it is a “cold, calculated decision” which is not for the good of the bank’s rural customers in Fermanagh.