A shop closing after three decades has partly blamed the council.

Carters Domestic Appliances announced on Tuesday that it will no longer be trading from its Southwick Square branch.

It said the main reasons for the closure are the parking charges in Southwick Square, implemented by Adur District Council, and increased rent prices.

However, the council said that these parking charges have been kept affordable over recent years with a very small increase.

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A spokesman for Carters Domestic Appliances said: "After much deliberation we have come to the very difficult decision to close the shop after 30 years.

"As I am sure you will appreciate, this decision hasn’t been made lightly but a number of factors have led us to this closure.

"Two of the main reasons are the vastly increased rent and the parking charges.

"When we opened in April 1994, Holmbush Shopping Centre hadn’t been built but as soon as it appeared, so did the parking charges for Southwick Square.

"So the car park which had always been completely full became almost empty and it seems that people would rather do their one-stop shopping at Tesco and Marks and Spencer.

"We are very sad to leave the square and hope our loyal customers will continue to use our other local stores.

"At the end of the day, we are a family business who care about our customers and feel it is such a shame to leave what was a thriving shopping centre supported by local people.

"Thank you for your support over the years."

The shop is the fourth to close in Southwick Square over the last six months.

A spokesperson for Adur District Council said: "We’re very sorry to hear that Carters have decided to leave Southwick Square.

“We have kept parking prices in the area affordable by only increasing them by 10p an hour over the last seven years. There is also some free parking in the area.

“Business rates are set by the government rather than the council, but we understand the impact they can have on traders.

“We are always keen to support local businesses and offer advice and assistance to help them access grants from national and local organisations that can help their firms grow.” 

Carters has other stores across Sussex including in Horsham, Worthing and Haywards Heath.