Teesdale is in danger of losing its only delivering newsagents.
Galgate News was a lifeline for many people during the coronavirus pandemic, but changes in Barnard Castle have seen a slump in local passing trade and a corresponding dip in turnover.
Shop manager Debbie Welsh warned it is a case of “use it or lose it” if more people do not support its services.
The newsagent currently supports rounds for 18 young people to do newspaper deliveries across the dale.
The shopkeeper blames a lack of available parking and a growing tendency for local people to do their shopping out of town.
Ms Welsh said: “I would say the people – customers – we have lost are people who would normally stop here for a newspaper. They can’t stop now because traffic is so busy out there. People will delay paying their bills because they have to come down and they can’t get parked.
“If someone drives past us and it looks busy, they will go and get their paper when they do their shopping, either at Morrisons or wherever.
“Once people would come to us for their newspaper, but now they are picking them up elsewhere and they don’t need to come to us anymore.
“Where we would be a convenience store for them, we aren’t anymore.”
Several businesses in the town complained last year that local footfall dropped off significantly when Durham County Council cancelled its free-after-two parking scheme at its Galgate and Hole-in-the-Wall parking areas. It had been implemented to support town centres after the pandemic.
Again there was an uproar when parking charges were increased in January.
Barnard Castle has one of the highest parking charges in the county, with people paying 90p for an hour at Galgate carpark, compared to short stay parking areas in Bishop Auckland which cost only 70p for two hours.
Free roadside parking in the town centre is limited to two hours with the same time limit for the cobbles in Market Place. However, parking is prohibited on the cobbles on Wednesdays for the market.
Ms Welsh said: “We are the only delivering newsagent in town and they (existing customers) are in danger of losing us. We definitely are not doing the turnover we once were.
“We took on an extra 180 customers in covid, and now our passing trade has changed. Footfall and passing trade have dropped off and the deliveries are not as strong as they used to be.
“That puts our rounds at risk and if my rounds get smaller, I need to join rounds together so I won’t need as many kids. So, the kids’ jobs are at risk, to be fair.”
