Arbroath’s struggling High Street has been dealt another hammer blow with the news that a long-established travel agency is to shut next month.
The Courier can reveal that DP&L Travel is to close its Arbroath branch with the loss of four jobs. DP&L bought over East Coast Enterprises in Westport 30 years ago and moved to the High Street.
The Dundee-based firm closed the Albert Square branch of its travel agency operation in the city in July last year.
The Dundee closure happened just a month after the firm confirmed that hundreds of refunds had to be given out as a result of the volcanic ash cloud that grounded flights across the world.
It was not known whether this contributed to the decision. It is understood the remaining St Andrews branch of DP&L is not closing.
Formerly known as the Dundee, Perth and London Shipping Company, the firm has provided shipping, transport and handling services in the city and throughout the UK for more than 170 years.
The group’s business portfolio has expanded over the years to include provision of industrial supplies, marquee hire and a specialised recruitment service.
No one from the company was available for comment over the weekend.Sad dayLast night Arbroath councillor Donald Morrison expressed sympathy for the affected staff members.
He said, “DP&L Travel is a long established firm that have been on the High Street for a very long time, so my thoughts are with the staff. It’s also a sad day for Arbroath as another unit will be left empty.
“Angus Council and other organisations need to work in marketing Arbroath High Street as a place very much open for business and selling Arbroath as a place with a lot to offer.”
The news comes after a weekend when another long-standing High Street shop closed its doors.
Arbroath’s Oxfam shop closed on Saturday after 25 years, after the charity decided not to renew the lease on its premises from a private landlord because of “rising costs.”
An Oxfam spokesman said the charity had been “fortunate to have had the support of a dedicated group of volunteers, staff and customers” during its time in Arbroath.”
Boarded-up or empty shops are now a familiar sight in Arbroath. Many premises are now standing empty, stretching from Market Place to the Abbeygate Centre, with boarded up windows and ‘for sale’ and ‘to let’ signs commonplace.
Woolworth’s departure at the end of 2008 came as a hammer-blow. Since then, the town has continued to be hit hard by the slump.
In April last year, staff at the Birthdays/Thorntons store in High Street were told they would no longer have jobs. Then, in June, the High Street lost another independent shop with the closure of Sporting Look.
In August, yet another big name pulled out of the Abbeygate with the closure of Iceland, which occupied a prime site beside the Elgin Place entrance.
There is concern as the increasing number of empty premises fail to attract occupants, while independent shops compete with neighbouring supermarkets.