Shopless future looks bleak

Millers Flat residents Carol McDonald (left), Lyn Owens and Margaret Paterson say a closed Faigan's Store is causing their village to die. Photo by Jono Edwards.
Millers Flat residents Carol McDonald (left), Lyn Owens and Margaret Paterson say a closed Faigan's Store is causing their village to die. Photo by Jono Edwards.
Millers Flat residents fear their township will die without a shop as its central hub.

Its only shop, Faigan's Store, remains closed more than two months after Foodstuffs withdrew its Four Square franchise. The community-owned shop operated in different forms for more than 100 years.

Thirty-year resident Lyn Owens said the store was the township's ''hub''.

''It's where we would meet. You could talk to people you hadn't seen in a while.''

She used the store ''all the time'', she said.

''I live right across the road and would walk over. My husband says you can see a groove in the road from me walking over so much.

''Oh, yes, we would love for someone to take it over.''

Thirty-five year Millers Flat resident Margaret Paterson, who worked there for 14 years, said she ''really missed'' the store.

''I'd go there for everything. Groceries and meat. Or even just to pick up milk or a loaf of bread.

''The area looks dead without it.''

The nearest place to buy groceries was Roxburgh, she said.

She hoped someone would step up and take charge of the store, she said.

''The longer we leave it, the worse it'll get.

''I've been using the store for 35 years. It grew for a while as the people in the area changed.''

Most of the 120 people who attended a public meeting before the closure indicated they wanted it to reopen in some form.

The trust which ran the store received some interest from people willing to take it over and asked them to submit business plans.

Trust chairman Eoin Garden said that process was ''coming to a close soon''.

''We've had progress and the process is going well. We hope to have a meeting soon.''

jono.edwards@odt.co.nz


 

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