AN INDEPENDENT retailer shutting up shop has blamed his decision on high rents, rates and roadworks on Marlborough High Street.

Andy Glover has run Light of Distinction with his son, brother-in-law and wife for the past 11 years.

Now the 64-year-old says that declining footfall as people go online, coupled with increased road works in Marlborough, have driven out visitors and are putting shoppers off the town.

He added that high rates and increasing rents despite falls in sales is squeezing him at both ends, forcing the closure of his lighting shop.

Mr Glover, of Wickfield in Devizes, said: “We’re a real family business. We were trying to sell it for about three months but there were no takers.

“More shops on the High Street are closing and more are rumoured to do the same. The internet has hit us hard. Rates are a killer on the High Street.

“Marlborough is one of the better high streets in the country and it is struggling. The two types of interest we have had were both from charity organisations. The footfall is down and has been atrocious in the town since the roadworks began. Granted they are doing something about it, but it’s a bit late now.”

Last year Marlborough was named the ninth best high street in the country, ahead of Bath, the West End in London and Edinburgh.

Since then women’s clothing retailer East has closed and NatWest will shut this summer.

But Bob Holman, of the Marlborough High Street Retailers’ Association, believes that despite the recent traffic issues, Marlborough remains a great shopping location.

He said: “There are problems, the customers who can’t get in and the customers who try to come in from other areas but can’t and decide to go somewhere else.

“When they do that we lose whatever money they were going to spend on that day.

“It has been horrible recently.

“They went part of the way to resolving it by taking down temporary traffic lights on the High Street to stop traffic backing up from the Tesco roundabout road works. But it will all start again.

“The works aren’t the issue but the timing of them all is.

“If there was some joined up thinking to coordinate the works the towns wouldn’t have had these issues. I don’t think there is a problem for the High Street as a whole. Some sections might be struggling more than others because people can shop onlinejust go and look on Amazon. But we have lots of independent shops and it all comes down to great customer service, which something that you don’t get online.”