‘My relief at having no Arcadia shops in the borough is not in any way blighting my compassion,’ says Wokingham council leader

THE LEADER of Wokingham Borough Council has sought to clarify his comments made about the announcement that Arcadia shops – including Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins – were to go into administration.

At an extraordinary meeting of Wokingham Borough Council’s executive committee, held virtually on Wednesday, December 9, Cllr John Halsall gave a statement where he pledged “(we) will not allow any of our residents go hungry or cold during this Covid-blighted winter”.

He also said that the council had signed the Race At Work charter as part of its commitment to tackle racism.

“We are using the findings from the Tackling Racism Matter survey to draft clear objectives that will go back to the public and stakeholders for discussion before they are agreed,” Cllr Halsall said.

But at the end of the statement, he said: “Just one last point, there are no Arcadia or Debenhams shops in Wokingham borough.”

He was speaking just after it had been announced that both the Arcadia group and Debenhams would be going into administration. Although both are continuing to trade, the stores are expected to close in the New Year.

Come and meet the fishing stars at the Reading & District Angling Association open day

Reading FC chairman Rob Couhig on Dai Yongge, Reading fans, Noel Hunt, Joe Jacobson and more

Cllr Halsall then repeated the statement on social media, posting in various Facebook groups: “Due to our policy of not preferring chains, you will be pleased to know there are no Arcadia or Debenham shops in Wokingham Borough.”

The comments provoked a reaction from many commentators, with some pointing out that the borough had three Waitrose stores and several Marks & Spencer food halls.

Others said that Wokingham borough was being hit by the closure of chains such as Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Peacocks, while others including Wallis, Burtons, Cargo and Clintons Cards have left in recent years.

And there were also calls for him to apologise for upsetting Arcadia staff.

Cllr Clive Jones, deputy leader of Wokingham Lib Dems and leader of Earley Town Council, said he was ‘saddened’ by Cllr Halsall’s comments and that, “he shows incredible lack of understanding or feeling for the many people who work for Arcadia and Debenhams who live within our Borough and are now facing a very uncertain future following the collapse of these retail chains”.

He added: “The Council Leader claims that there is a policy of preferring chains of shops NOT to come to the Borough. I am not aware of any such policy coming before the council for discussion.

“And, of course, GAIL’s bakery has recently taken a lease with the Borough Council. They are part of a chain of 60-plus bakeries started in the 1990’s by Gail Mejia.

“Waterstones have also taken a lease with the council in Peach Place. They are a well-established chain of bookshops and have around 280 across the country employing 3,500 people.

“I wonder if he really knows which retailers are in the Borough. Would he consider the following to be chains: Boots, M&S, Fat Face, Pets at Home, Majestic Wine, Carpetright, Superdrug, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Waitrose (now a tenant of WBC) Holland and Barrett and several of our charity shops?”

He said that all these retailers were important to the borough’s community and that there was nowhere large enough for a department store such as Debenhams.

“Perhaps Cllr Halsall should consider his posts a bit more carefully. His post isn’t exactly a good advertisement for what we are meant to be Business-friendly Wokingham.”

Responding, Cllr Halsall said that he hadn’t meant to cause offence to anyone who worked for the chains and that the council’s policy was to create a unique retail environment.

“I’m really sorry about the fact that that the retail industry is having the problems that it has and that a huge number of people in the retail and hospitality sector are at risk of losing, or have lost, their jobs,” he told Wokingham.Today.

“That’s really why within Wokingham borough, we’ve upped our game in terms of the support we’re giving people, and we’re giving a huge amount of support.

“So my relief at having no Arcadia shops in the borough is not in any way blighting my compassion – far from it, it’s a catalyst to upping our game, which is considerable in comparison to everybody else.”

He felt that the borough’s shopping centres – Twyford, Wokingham and Woodley – each have their strengths and that the regeneration of Wokingham town would provide an alternative to other local shopping centres.

“Reading and Bracknell will, I think, continue to be major retail centres, Wokingham should be trying to compete, it should be trying to offer something substantially different,” he said.

“What we’ve tried to do is not have a parade which was uniquely national chains. As it happens, it’s been a godsend – it’s made Wokingham more resilient, and different.”

He said that his statement at the Executive and on social media was “an answer to the question whether we have any Arcadia developments in the borough, which had been asked by a huge number of people and, quite understandably, is all to do with the winter programme of support for those in need in the borough.”

And Cllr Halsall also said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we don’t have any voids in our properties as a consequence of the Arcadia shops going down, which would be a double whammy for our residents. Not only would people be losing their jobs, but it also stops the losses on rental voids.”