TJ Hughes collapses - Nuneaton suffers

The concern of the week for many of us in Nuneaton has been the news that TJ Hughes is going to be closing in Nuneaton - and the administrators didn't even have the courtesy to let the Council know that they were doing it until it went on the administrator's website.

This isn't a political issue - it's a human issue. I feel extremely sorry for the workers at TJ Hughes who will lose their jobs, and I hope that they will all be able to find jobs soon.

When I was first elected in May 2010, it was one of the first things I had to vote on at the Council. In fact, on the debate - which at that time was in closed session due to the financial sensitivities - I made my 'maiden speech' in the chamber in support of TJ Hughes and the decision to buy the property and help to refurbish it. It was a unanimous decision made for the good of the Borough and the Town Centre.

I fully support both Dennis Harvey (Labour Leader) and Des O'Brien (Conservative Leader) on this one. The Council, but most importantly the employees, have been treated appallingly by the administrators about this.

And I am glad to see that Marcus Jones is trying to turn the situation into something positive for the Borough by talking to Marks and Spencers about perhaps returning to Nuneaton and that site. It has, afterall, been greatly revamped and could offer them greater space in which to sell both clothes and food - which were extremely popular with shoppers in Nuneaton. As someone who went out and collected signatures in the Town Centre for the petition to keep M&S at the time, almost everyone said how much they valued it.

Perhaps now they could restore the link they once had with Nuneaton and help revitalise the Town Centre.