STEEP business rates and local parking problems are ruining trade for Newlyn firms.
That's the view of several shopkeepers on The Strand, who are closing down because of the decrease in business
Steve Soulsby, owner of Waghorn hardware store, is putting the building up for auction later this year because he can no longer afford to run it.
"It is the end of an era for small independent shops," he said.
Mr Soulsby, who has run Waghorn Stores for 12 years, told The Cornishman the last few years had seen a decrease in foot traffic to the shop, once a thriving DIY store.
Coupled with business rates "that have more than doubled in the last five years", it means the 61-year-old is having to shut up shop.
"Our footfall has halved, and our overheads have doubled," he said, adding that clamping on the road outside the fish market was putting people off.
"The car parks are still a pound if you are going to buy a 50p packet of nuts and bolts, so you think, 'I'll go to B&Q and park there for nothing'."
Ansom Moore, the trophy and sportswear shop two doors down from Waghorn, will be closing down at the end of January, though it will continue trading online.
Its owner, Owen Griffiths, 69, is retiring due to ill health, but says that clamping has affected his business badly.
"Passing trade has gone," he said. "Most of it started when they put in the clamping – it has killed this end of the road."
Other businesses, including Badcocks gallery and Wilkins estate agents, have moved their centre of operations from Newlyn, while Barrons newsagents is also on the market.
But other shops in the port are thriving. Juliet Taylor, who runs the Newlyn Harbour Design Centre on The Strand, said: "We are doing absolutely fine; we have been doing lots of soft furnishings through the retail side, and large interior design projects too."
She said the recent launch of St James clothing had almost sold out, and she plans to open a design studio at the premises later this month.
And Helen Venning, who opened Newlyn Cheese and Charcuterie in New Road in November, says her business has soared. "I already have regular customers who are working their way through the selection I have," she said. "Local reaction to the shop has been really positive and all sorts of people are coming in."
Andrew Munson, of the Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commission, said the clamping was not intended to harm businesses, but the area in front of the fish market had to be kept clear for loading and unloading.
"We have got lorries and vans coming at all hours of the day and night – that's why they have to patrol that area," he added.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN