People in a Merseyside town were "up in arms" when a Marks and Spencer store at the "heart" of the town centre closed its doors for good.
M&S announced it was shutting its Liscard branch in May 1990, giving shocked customers only two weeks notice before ceasing trading. The retailer cited the reason for the closure as the store being "too small to display the company's expanding range of products".
The store had been based in Liscard's shopping precinct since 1935 on a site which is now home to Primark. A report from an edition of the ECHO on May 8, 1990, revealed "angry" shoppers were even considering starting a petition to protest against the closure.
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Speaking to the ECHO at the time, Liscard Traders' Association chair Sylvia Connelly, said: "People are up in arms in Liscard about the closure of Marks. They are very upset and talking about collecting names to oppose it. Liscard is a very local place to shop. I don't think a lot of people are prepared to travel to Birkenhead to get Marks and Spencer food."
And now a number of locals have shared their memories of the store, with some it citing its closure as a catalyst for the "downfall" of the town centre. Paula Nichols said: "I worked there as a seasonal till girl in the 80s.
"It was a great place to work. I was so sad when it closed. Paula Simpson Smith also looks back fondly on the shop, saying: "I loved M&S in Liscard, as a little girl and one of six kids, anything was a treat from there.
"I remember their sports biscuits and mini trifles and family sharing bags of snacks long before supermarkets did them, like cheese balls and salt and vinegar swirls. As a young adult with my first home I did most of my weekly shop there. I loved their chicken Kievs."
A number of Liscard residents told the ECHO that M&S' closure, along with the loss of other popular stores like Littlewoods, Woolworths and WHSmith, has completely changed the make up of the town centre.
Joan Woodward said: "It was the start of the downfall of Liscard. Even if it had stayed for just food sales it would have been good.
"Then Littlewoods closing put the stamp on it. We are left with all charity shops or cut price shops. I like B&M and home bargains but you can’t beat M&S."
Marie Camara said "M&S, Littlewoods and Woolworths. So many shops and it did go downhill fast when they started closing them. It's sad really because it used to be a busy place to go," while Jim Hunschok added: "That was the turning point. I was always in M&S Liscard."
While people have given credence to the phrase “the death of the high street” over the past decade, things could be on the up for Liscard. Last month, Wirral council announced plans to make a bid for £12m from the government’s Levelling Up fund.
The application will be submitted to develop a new community hub and help regenerate the town centre, with a particular emphasis on developing the shopping area. Proposals include improving shop fronts on Liscard Way and making Mother Redcap Place more user-friendly.
Wirral Council leader and Labour Liscard councillor Janette Williamson said: “Liscard deserves this funding to regenerate the town centre and to create a new community hub where the area’s many brilliant groups can meet. Together with local businesses, voluntary groups and residents, we have been working hard to improve the town centre, in particular the shopping area, and this funding would be a huge boost.”
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