Jobs at risk in book firm crash

By Stephen Ivall

ONE of the Falmouth area's largest employers went into receivership this week and put more than 100 jobs in jeopardy.

Only two months after 35 jobs went at book wholesalers J Barnicoat, based in Penryn, accountants Touche Ross moved in on Monday and took over.

The company which began more than 40 years ago, and was one of the largest independent wholesale booksellers in the country with a turnover of almost £10 million, is now being run by My Peter Thurston, who will be assessing future prospects.

The company also runs Falmouth Bookshop and City Bookshop, Truro. Both were trading as normal this week, not knowing what the future holds. Barnicoats crashed with liabilities of more than £3 million. The development was not entirely unexpected. But the ending of the Barnicoat family's reign threatened to deal a big blow to the local economy.

There was considerable bitterness over the redundancies in August, particularly over the handling of the affair by managing director Jonathan Barnicoat, and many of those who lost their jobs said they could see a crisis coming.

At the time Mr Barnicoat emphatically denied any suggestion that the company was in financial trouble. It had a solid base, he said. But the book trade had not had an easy few months and cutbacks had to be made.

Trago founder slams new Sunday laws

A well-known critic of bureaucracy has hit out at MPs, calling them "a load of stupid berks" when given the "golden opportunity to clear up for all time the nonsense over Sunday trading."

Mr Mike Robertson, founder of the Trago Mills empire now run by his son Bruce, takes his latest swipe at parliament in the local press this week.

He claims Trago stores, which have always opened on a Sunday even before the new legislation, now had to condense almost eight hours of trading into six and as a result find traffic jams outside their stores.

The recent changes in the Sunday trading laws has allowed shops with less than 3,000 square feet to open as long as they want on Sundays.

Those about the 3,000 are limited to six hours trading.

Shoppers at Trago Mills in Falmouth and elsewhere are finding they have to wait until the given time before they can buy. Until then it is viewing only.

The day a police station closed for lunch

A SIGN saying "Closed for lunch" on the door of Penryn Police Station was the subject of heated words this week.

Mr Nick Ferris, of Ponsanooth, said he could not believe his eyes when he saw the notice.

But it could be the sign of things to come – for a survey being conducted among police stations in the district could lead to open times being cut.

At present Penryn police station is open from 8am until midnight but economies may lead to it being closed at 8pm.

Already there have been difficulties during lunch periods. It was during one such difficulty that Mr Ferris arrived to be confronted with the "Closed for lunch " sign.

Chief Superintendent Eddie Hallett, in charge of the newly-created Mid Cornwall division, confirmed a survey was being carried out.

He said he would not wish to keep a police station open if it was not being used by the public. The survey should give the answers being sought and they would be analysed.