Overview
- Research from barcodestore.co.uk shows Ellesmere Port suffered 460 shop closures between 2015 and 2025, the highest relative to its population.
- The dataset compares closures per head and lists Norwich, Torquay, Blackpool, Warrington, Bristol, Poole, Birmingham, Leeds and London among the worst affected.
- London recorded the largest raw total with 1,250 closures over the decade but ranked lowest on a per-capita basis.
- Cheshire West and Chester Council’s £8 million market refurbishment, part of a wider £13 million town-centre project, is due to complete in autumn 2026.
- Coverage cites continuing pressures from higher costs, lower footfall and online habits, alongside fresh reports this week of a British beauty chain shuttering 30 stores and banks closing 14 branches.