New calls to sort out eyesore shop in heart of Fleetwood

The former Store Twenty One building, on Lord Street, has been empty since 2016 and its condition has continued to deteriorate, despite once housing Fleetwood’s most cherished shop, the Marks and Spencer store, until the mid 1980s.

Many in the town are still under the impression that is owned by the high street chain but it is understood to be owned by a Salford-based charity which has has a faith background.

Various attempts have been made over recent years to get the owners to tidy up the site but nothing has worked.

On separate occasions there have been two potentially fatal incidents, one involving an open window being ripped off by the wind and crashing to the ground below, the other involving a rusty sign also falling onto the pavement.

On another occasion a huge cannabis factory was found to be growing there and a man found tending it was discovered to be the victim of modern slavery.

Terry Rogers, former chairman of Fleetwood Town Council and now chairman of Fleetwood Festival of Transport, wants to see organisations make a concerted effort in 2022 to solve the problem, and said: “It’s an abomination that this building has been allowed to be left like that.

“It really lets the town down and I don’t think it would be tolerated in Cleveleys or Poulton. I feel like covering it in a shroud because it is embarrassing. We need to address it this year.”