THE changing face of the music industry and Taunton’s town centre has left one business owner out of rhythm.
Phil Harding, of Black Cat Records, has decided to close his town centre store and move his business to Creetown House, on the Belvedere Trading Estate.
The lease on his current Bridge Street location runs out in January, and Mr Harding has decided not to renew it due to concerns town centre bosses at Taunton Deane Borough Council, have backed away from ‘civil society’.
He said: “I have been an active member of civil society for the last 10 years. I was a director for the Town Centre Company, Taunton Forward.
“I go to meetings, I write papers, I talk to councillors, and officials. But these groups aren’t being listened to, and the members get disillusioned. Now, Arts Taunton is the only group still running.
“I love this town, and I don’t want to leave.
“There are a lot of people here that like to whinge about things and not do anything to change it, but I like to act on things.
“I believe in doing something about it.”
The current location of Taunton's Black Cat Records on Bridge Street.
The new Black Cat Records hub will not be a shop, but somewhere with plenty of storage for him to invest in his online sales, while still being able to buy stock off of customers coming to visit the site.
“Times have changed. There has been a shift away from high street shopping all over the UK,” Mr Harding said.
“It is not just more convenient for shoppers, but it makes the competition fierce.”
“I have always avoided stocking the kind of music that Amazon would sell. I do what no one does, but people can get things specially ordered from me, too.
“I cater for people that still value a physical product, but it has become impossible to guess what my customers will want.
“Moving to this site will allow me to have a lot of storage, which is what I need for the business to continue online.”
Mr Harding hopes to one day return to retail in Taunton, but has to consider the location very carefully.
He said: “Places like Station Road and East Reach are at full capacity, parts of the town are staying economically active.
“Maybe Taunton Deane Borough Council should take a look at what is working, rather than pushing what has died.”
Black Cat Records will be open for trade at Belvedere Trading Estate from January 7.
Taunton Deane Borough Council declined to comment.
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