Yet another Rotherham town centre shop shuts its doors

A TOWN centre shop, which opened as part of a £100,000 scheme to revive Rotherham’s High Street, will move to Barnsley due to a lack of footfall.

Greeting cards, gifts and toys outlet Patchwork Pig was set up by Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas’ Portas Pilot project in 2011.

But it closed the doors to its High Street store for the final time yesterday in favour of a move to Silkstone.

A statement on its Facebook page said: “It hasn’t been an easy decision but I think we have reached a peak and can’t take it higher where we are now.

“I’m sad to leave Rotherham but excited to start a new chapter.”

The news comes as Rotherham Borough Council continue to press ahead with its Masterplan for the town centre, which includes plans for a leisure development on Forge Island.

But one of the town’s best-known businesses — Eastwood Domestics — moved out of its branch on the corner of College Street and High Street.

And Primark, also on High Street, is expected to close its store by the end of the year in favour of Parkgate Shopping.