RECENT announcements of a number of shop closures have prompted concerns over the state of Chepstow high street.

Last week it was announced that family-owned department store Herbert Lewis is to close its doors for good.

One of the oldest department stores in the UK, established in 1878, its managing director Dee Griffith cited the impact of online shopping as a factor. The store, which employs 18 people, will close later this year.

Shop closures in the high street are a widespread concern, for business owners and residents.

One, David Trevelyan, took to social media to say: “We could do with attracting some inward investment again. We need a mix of nationals and local business.”

Simon James added: “We have to sell online and on Facebook, we simply can’t afford paying the rents here for a start up business. We would love to set up a bakery.”

Another resident added concerns concerning high business rates and the Severn tolls, warning that Chepstow could become “a ghost town”.

The announcement of Herbert Lewis’s closure follows a recent trend of declining shops in Chepstow, with family butchers Hookways and clothing shop Viva Couture closing this month.

Natwest’s branch in Chepstow was also a recent casualty of declining high street customers, closing on 7th June, with the nearest branch now in Thornbury, the other side of the River Severn.

Citing a dramatic reduction in transactions, Natwest said when the announcement was made that just 24 customers were visiting the branch each week.

The recent spate of closures come alongside increased concerns over the increase in online shopping making it more difficult for high street retailers to survive.

Increases in business rates, and the upcoming scrapping of the Severn bridge tolls, are also factors.

The future of another Chepstow company, Select Fashion, was put into doubt earlier this year when the company that owned it accepted the terms of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in April.

The Beacon enquired whether the branch would be closing, but a member of staff at the store declined to comment.

According to the Office for National Stasistics, the retail and service sectors that lost out the most in 2017 were pubs (with 747 closing), followed closely by banks, with a total of 711 closing. Newsagents (364), women’s clothing (311) and convenience shops (305) were also hit hard by closures.

These figures are reinforced by the British Retail Consortium, which despite a small increase in the retail sector, still accepts the current environment is “extremely challenging.”

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of BRC, said: “Despite this more positive set of sales results, the retail environment remains extremely challenging, with trend growth still very low by historical standards. Retailers remain focused on investing in new and exciting shopping experiences for the future as margins remain tight and the competition fierce.”