A VILLAGE shop will close at the end of this month, with parking issues being blamed for takings going down.

Sue Preece, proprietor of Christleton Stores on Village Road, says she has ‘tried everything’ to keep the shop open but that it was ‘not paying to keep the doors open’.

“People can’t park outside,” she said. “If someone wants to pop in for something small, they can’t just park up and come in. There has always been a big issue in the village about getting something done about the parking.”

Sue told the Chronicle she would be very said to see the shop closing and that she had enjoyed her five years there ‘very much’. She is also very sad to have to lay off the two part-time members of staff she employs.

She and husband Phil hope to be able to continue delivering newspapers on a daily basis to more than 200 people in the village.

“We hope to get the papers delivered to our home and then we will get them out to the homes of the delivery boys and girls,” she said.

“We are also looking into setting up some method of selling papers on the village green. There are a lot of elderly people in the village who love to come into the shop every morning and we don’t want to let them down.”

According to Sue, the shop has been a focal point in the village and played an active part in village life over the years.

She said: “We sold all sorts of things, from bread and groceries to home produce and plants in summer.

“We organised a Jubilee party last year and have raised more than £7,000 for the hospice.”

Neighbouring pub the Ring O’Bells used its Facebook page to gauge interest in the possibility of opening a small retail unit when the shop eventually closes, which resulted in a mixed bag of opinion from local residents.

A spokesman from the pub, which hosts a farmers’ market once a month in its car park, said: “At the moment it’s all up in the air.

“We have recently undergone a massive refurbishment and have put on a glass house on the side of the pub.

“We would perhaps look at selling some local produce from our suppliers, like Churton Heath Farm and the Cheshire Cheese Company, perhaps in four or five wicker baskets. We wouldn’t be doing sweets or stuff like that.

“It is just an idea at the moment but we would like to wish Sue and Phil all the best.”

Sue was unable to confirm who will take over the lease on the shop when she leaves.