One of Nottingham’s oldest shops receives grant to secure its future

One of Nottingham’s oldest shops, Rowells on Derby Road, has been given a £32,800 Towns Fund grant which will help to secure its future. The shop has been a fixture on the high street selling haberdashery, curtains, bedding and clothing for over 120 years and has been run by three generations of the Marshall family.

In recent years, the building has needed some repairs, especially to the shop frontage and windows which have started to show signs of deterioration. The owners have been unable to afford to take on the repairs due to the pandemic which caused a downturn in business.

The grant will provide funding to install double glazing and a new awing to the front of the hundred-year-old building. New flooring, ceiling improvements and electrical works are also needed. The work is due to start in the next few weeks.

The grant is just one of more than seventy which are being awarded through the Towns Fund’s £1m Town Centre Recovery Fund. The Marshalls hope that it will allow them to display more stock to appeal to a wider age range and new customers.

“We’re proud that Rowells has been in the Stapleford community for so long, which I think is because we’ve never compromised on quality, have friendly staff and offer things that people want and can’t get elsewhere,” said owner, Chris Marshall.

“We want to carry on for another 120 years but the downturn in business over the last few years has meant we’ve just not had the money to spend on the repairs our building needs. We want to make our shop as appealing as possible for our customers, bringing it up to modern-day standards, but retaining the building’s period charm.”

He added: “This grant will mean we can display more stock that appeals to more age groups with a better appearance which will help grow our business and bring more people to shop in our town. Being more energy efficient through double glazing will also make a massive difference to our running costs.

“This Towns Fund grant will make all this possible and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

The £1m Town Centre Recovery Fund is one of six projects which has been funded by the £21.1m Stapleford Towns Fund. This is part of the Government’s £3.6bn Towns Deal.

Ian Jowett, Chair of the Stapleford Towns Fund Board, said: “Rowells has been a feature of our town’s high street for generations and we’re pleased that this grant will help with the vital repairs and improvement work that it needs to preserve the building and safeguard the business for many years to come.”

“It’s great that so many property owners have come forward to utilise this grant to improve their tired buildings, as improving the street scene is critical in attracting new businesses to open in the town’s vacant buildings.”