At one corner of Rawson Square in Bradford stands the kind of store you will only find in a town centre. The Cooker Centre runs a steady trade in furniture, kitchen and home appliances. Customers pop in and pop out, peering around corners, examining what is on offer. Owner Ted Sobonski reassures them that if they don’t have the bookcase or bedside table they are looking for this week, they may have it next.

Looking down across the square and along John Street and Darley Street, the store has a good vantage point to see what is happening in Bradford city centre, and Ted is worried. He and his fellow retailers, he says, are struggling.

“Every year it’s harder”, he says. The store has had to adapt to stay open. He once sold just white goods, they have had to expand their line to include furniture. He used to employ several members of staff. Now he serves customers alone.

“I’ve cut costs to a minimum”. Yet it doesn’t feel as though it is enough.

Ted’s biggest expense is his business rates. These are a local tax paid by every non-domestic and business property in England and Wales. They are calculated and collected by each local authority and help pay for local services. For The Cooker Centre, these rates represent more than a third of their outgoings. Ted has written a letter to Bradford Council asking for them to be reduced, he believes they provide too much of a drain on small city centre businesses who are struggling in a difficult financial climate.

“I have appealed for them to be reduced. Bradford is not the same town centre it was. (The business rates) need to reflect that”.

Parking is another major issue, he notes. He worries that with customers unable to park directly outside his store they will be less likely to buy big items.

He used to be able to have street furniture outside his shop, now he has been told to remove it. Bits of furniture for sale directing shoppers inside now he thinks his customers think he’s closed because there is nothing outside.

With plans for the new Westfield Shopping Centre in Bradford, Ted feels the future is uncertain, although not necessarily negative.

“At the moment there’s nothing to come to Bradford for. Perhaps it will give people a reason to come. Maybe it will take away the business that’s already here, but we don’t know”.

Ted’s is just one shop, one view of Bradford.
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