Sad news has been released this week as one of Midsomer Norton’s best-loved independent sandwich shops is set to close its doors for the final time this month, bringing to an end 14 years of serving the local community.
Pure Taste announced what they call a “difficult decision” to close in a heartfelt message to its customers, thanking them for their loyalty while revealing the mounting pressures that have made the business unsustainable.
The café’s owners said the decision had not been taken lightly, pointing to soaring costs since the pandemic, increasing utility bills and a steady decline in High Street footfall.
In the message to customers, they stated that “The redevelopment of The Island also hasn’t helped. We lost passing trade when the bus stops were moved, after being promised a busy Market Square with regular stalls and events – something that sadly never happened.”
The statement ended with a warning that will concern many people who care about the future of the town centre, “We’re not the first local business to close, and unfortunately we probably won’t be the last.”
For many residents, the closure is more than the loss of a café. It is the disappearance of another familiar face from Midsomer Norton’s High Street. The closure raises difficult questions for Midsomer Norton Town Council and Midsomer Norton High Street Renewal Steering Group about whether the town’s regeneration project is delivering the benefits that local businesses were promised.
The redevelopment of the Market Square, which local residents have nicknamed “The Patio”, and the refurbishment of the historic Town Hall were intended to breathe new life into the town centre.
However, despite an estimated £2.39m being spent on the Market Square, less than a handful of events have ever been staged on the redevelopment, falling far short of the regular programme of markets and activities many residents were expecting and were promised in the grant application to West of England Combined Authority.
The Town Hall, which was initially scheduled to reopen 3 years ago after refurbishment, remains shut, with no announcement from the Town Council on when it will reopen. The Town Hall refurbishment is now estimated by Midsomer Norton Town Council to cost a further £2.35m.
The sad closure of another business of the high street is likely to intensify calls from residents and local business owners for Town Councillors and the High Street Renewal Steering Group to explain how they intend to revitalise the high street and make better use of the public spaces created through the regeneration project.
