UPDATED – Questions over the future of the McColl’s Woodthorpe store

Following the takeover of McColl’s by Morrisons, there are questions over the future of existing McColl’s stores, such as the one on Moorcroft Road in Woodthorpe.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced on 27 October that Morrisons’ acquisition of McColl’s from administration has been cleared. Morrisons subsequently issued a press release which stated that for 132 McColls stores where there is no realistic prospect of achieving a breakeven position in the medium term, the majority of these stores will be closed in an orderly fashion over the remainder of the year.

The Morrisons press release went on to say “Of the 132 stores that will close, 55 include a Post Office counter. Recognising the particular importance of the community Post Office counters to their local areas, especially around Christmas, Morrisons will delay the closure of these 55 stores until next year to enable them to serve their communities through Christmas and to allow the Post Office additional time to make alternative arrangements. We are currently working with the Post Office to see if nearby McColl’s or Morrisons stores could be part of the solution and we are currently looking at a number of potential stores for replacement Post Office counters.”

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton has asked Morrisons to clarify whether the Woodthorpe store is among the 55 stores with a Post Office counter that have been earmarked for closure.

Cllr Stephen Fenton outside the former Woodthorpe Post Office in May 2019

Stephen said “Back in 2019 the local Lib Dem team campaigned to save Post Office services after the Woodthorpe Post Office closed down. The campaign had a successful outcome when Post Office services were accommodated within the McColl’s store. We are now faced with the prospect of losing not only Post Office services, but also the only convenience store serving this part of Woodthorpe, with the next closest being Costcutter store on Wains Grove and the Tesco Express store on Acomb Wood Drive, neither of which has a Post Office counter.

“The news that Morrisons was taking over McColl’s was welcomed by many, with the store on Gale Lane already having been converted into a Morrisons Daily store. But there are now concerns that the Woodthorpe McColl’s store might be among the 132 earmarked for closure, and so I have written to Morrisons to ask for clarification on this as soon as possible.”

UPDATE – a list of the 132 stores that are apparently to be closed has been published by The Mirror newspaper. The Woodthorpe store is not listed, but Stephen has asked Morrisons to confirm the accuracy of this list.

Food shopping information

Local businesses around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe are operating where they can. We will try to share as much information as we can in future website posts, recognising that it is a fluid situation and that things may change.

Here is some information that hopefully will be of use:

• Tesco Askham Bar – Open 6am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9am to 10am is priority shopping time for elderly and vulnerable residents and Sunday from 9am to 10am there is a browsing hour for NHS workers
• Morrisons Acomb – Open 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Monday to Saturday 7am to 8am the store is open early or NHS workers
• Ged Bell Butchers on Middlethorpe Grove – shop remains open and they can do deliveries. Call 01904 706069 or 07813 110218
• Richardsons Butchers on Moorcroft Road – shop remains open and they can do deliveries. Order online HERE or call 01904 707876

St Nicholas Fayre in York from tomorrow

St Nicholas Fayre

St Nicholas Fayre

The St Nicholas Fayre returns with seasonal sparkle on Thursday 28 November for four days of festive trading.

The Fayre, now in its 22nd year, is a firm favourite in the market calendar and runs until Sunday 1 December.

Snug wooden huts and pretty lights will line Parliament Street and Coppergate with a traditional carousel in St Sampson’s Square.
Stall holders, dressed in Victorian costume, will be offering a huge array of gifts including jewellery, ceramics, seasonal drinks, Whitby jet, wooden gifts, children’s clothes, herbs and oils and decorations for the Christmas period.

Other markets taking place across the city include

  • the Made in Yorkshire art and craft market at the Guildhall,
  • the Medieval Market at Barley Hall and an Arts and
  • Crafts market at St William’s College.

St Nicholas Fayre is open from 28 November to 1 December from 9am until 6pm daily and runs alongside the permanent Newgate Market in the city centre.

For more information on specialist York markets see http://www.yorkfestivals.com/

York market may close earlier in winter

York MarketAccess times for market vehicles entering the area at the end of the day have been relaxed for the winter to take account of outdoor trading conditions.

Working with the agreement of the City Centre Manager, traders are now able to load up an hour early on Sundays through to Fridays, whilst the access time for Saturday business remains at its usual time.

The arrangement will start from Sunday 3 November until Spring Half Term, Sunday 23 February.

Like most City centre traders, market stall holders have been badly hit by the Labour Councils 36% increase in car parking charges while new traffic restrictions in the City centre have been the final straw for some.

Newgate Market is situated in the heart of York, just off The Shambles. For further information about the market and York’s specialist markets visit www.york.gov.uk/markets.For information on planning your journey into the city centre visit www.itravelyork.info.

4% drop in shopper numbers in City centre during August

Figures released today, under Freedom of Information rules, reveal that 4% fewer shoppers visited the York City centre in August compared to the same month last year.

"Footfall" numbers in Parliament Street. click to enlarge

“Footfall” numbers in Parliament Street. click to enlarge

The blame for the reduction is being attributed to the bungled introduction of new traffic regulations on Lendal Bridge and in Coppergate.

The news comes at a time when visitor attractions were reporting an increase in the numbers using their facilities earlier in the year

In the period up to August a 16% increase was recorded.

This was partly put down to special events like the Mallard 75 celebration as well as the opening of the new York Minster revealed axhibition.

The expectations had been that a recovering national economy – coupled with good weather – would lead to a bumper August; but those hopes seem to have been dashed.

Cameras, that measure the numbers of people on Parliament Street, recorded a drop in “footfall” from a monthly total of 780,646 in 2012 to 746,349 this year

Figures for September and early October are due to are published next week.

Many are forecasting a further decline.

Over 5000 visitors will have received penalty charge notices in September and word of mouth is likely to have resulted in further reputational damage for the City.

More may choose to shun the central area.

There are, however, some hopes that special events like the Food Festival might partly counter the decline.

Earlier in the week the Council was reported as having ordered additional footfall cameras.