Helston: more than just charity shops, estate agents and Flora Day

WHILE our Helston councillors are arguing about pictures and wasting taxpayers’ money on frames, they appear to be sleep walking the residents into the further demise of Helston.

People are finding life tough, and the prospect of a huge J D Wetherspoon offering cheap food and drink sounds tempting.

Wetherspoon is a very successful national brand and it is advantageous for them to invest their profits into a new outlet. Apparently they have been looking for premises in Helston that are large enough for a long time – correction, they have been looking for somewhere to invest their profits so as to cut their tax bill! It has the additional benefit of a tangible asset that can be sold at a later date.

The food at Wetherspoon may be cheap, but only until such time that they have wounded all of the competition. Once the competition is gone, the prices don’t have to stay low.

So what might Helston be left with except for a lot of small empty retail units that cannot be used to attract business that residents who cannot drive might actually need.

On recent trips out I can’t help noticing how buoyant Falmouth is looking. Penzance seems to have a good range of shops and is on the up.

When Helston is all estate agents and charity shops, our councillors can be justifiably proud!