\n Benbows, a greengrocer on Market Place, has shut after more than 30 years of trading in the town.\n<\/p>\n
\n The shop was a family-run business that was widely known for its selection of fresh fruit and vegetables.\n<\/p>\n
\n Active Fakenham, a group of volunteers working to promote the town, expressed “real sadness and disappointment” upon hearing of the closure.\n<\/p>\n
\n The shop offered a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables (Image: Active Fakenham)\n<\/p>\n
\n Richard Crook, from the group, said: “Competition from supermarkets, changing shopping habits, and perhaps changing eating habits have all played a part in the closure of Benbows, along with other small independent shops in the town.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The fact that it accepted cash only may not have helped.\n<\/p>\n
\n “For me personally, it means the loss of familiar, friendly faces I met several times a week\u2014often at least once while being gently dragged in by the dog when I was trying to walk past.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This closure made me reflect on what Benbows meant not only to me, but to Active Fakenham and to Fakenham as a town. Without the ability to pop in for mushrooms or fresh fruit, I will undoubtedly walk into town less often”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Former Fakenham Town Mayor Janet Holdom and Nigel Benbow inside the store (Image: Newsquest)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Crook added that the closure of Benbows was “symbolic” of how towns were changing and that there will “clearly be a loss to the town centre as a whole”.\n<\/p>\n
\n He has now called on people in the town to support traders and businesses where they can.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Crook said: “While new businesses are arriving, some valued services are disappearing. If town centres are to survive and thrive, they must adapt.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If we value independent shops, friendly faces, and a vibrant town centre, now is the time to show it.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Wherever possible, please support local traders, use town-centre businesses, and spread the word about what Fakenham has to offer”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benbows, a greengrocer on Market Place, has shut after more than 30 years of trading in the town.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-406597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}