'Ghost town' fears as traders shut their doors

"You do not get a queue at all, it is one person at a time, sometimes only two or three people in a day and that is why I have had to close," says shop owner Paul Wort.

Famed for its liquorice sweets, Pontefract has a long history as a market town, but some businesses have said a combination of recent roadworks and changing shopping habits have forced them to shut their doors.

Paul ran Vaparama on Market Place for 12 years but made the decision to close at the beginning of the year due to what he said was a steep drop in customers.

Recalling more profitable times, the 55-year-old said: "The shop had three members of staff some days of the week because it was that busy.

"I tried for as long as I could to keep it going."

Paul is among the business owners blaming roadworks for a drop in customers saying they were "massively affecting people's ability" to get into town.

An improvement scheme in the town began in May 2025.

It includes the introduction of a new one-way system from the bus station towards Stuart Way, new cycle paths and additional loading bays.

Once finished, the work will "transform Horsefair and improve links between the town and the castle", according to Wakefield Council.

However, the works originally due to finish in December are still ongoing.

Paul also blames a change in shopping habits on falling trade and says the town does not offer the range of shops it once did.

"It is full of hairdressers and nail bars.

"They have their uses but the people coming into town cannot buy the things they need.

"It is upsetting, because you can see the decline."

Danny Howarth said he was "popping in" to town with his partner purely for the registry office.

"Most town centres are the same now. They are going to be redundant soon.

"It is like a ghost town."

The 32-year-old says he would like to see more clothes shops in the town, adding that he would rather head over to Leeds if he needed anything in particular.

"It used to be a bustling town," Michaela Heaps said.

Her traditional sweet shop used to make up to £900 a week, but a drop in footfall has caused her takings to drop significantly.

"Some Saturdays, I have been taking £4 per day," she said.

"I was having to ring my staff and say go home - I have not got the money to pay you."

Michaela is among the business owners who have made the choice to pull out of Pontefract.

She has moved her trade to nearby Featherstone.

"It has been a shambles, the whole town," she said.

"There is traffic piled up on every single road leading into town, so nobody wants to face the traffic."

She said even if people brave the traffic they then have to "fight" to find a parking space.

"I am really, really sad," she said.

Mark Lynam, Wakefield Council's corporate director for regeneration, environment and economic growth, says the council "understands there has been some disruption" but they have worked "very hard to limit" it.

"Pedestrian and disabled access has been maintained to local businesses throughout and any work needed directly outside a business has been done outside of their operating hours," he said.

"Although some one hour stay on street parking spaces have been lost, we are offering free parking for two hours in all council-owned car parks in Pontefract."

Despite the disruption, there are those who believe Pontefract has unlocked potential.

"It could be made absolutely beautiful," Paul Walker says.

"I would just like roads putting right and actually being on time and I would like to see some of these shops opened up."

The 66-year-old said councillors should demonstrate more "imagination" when developing the town.

"There could be events, craft fairs, it is all cobbled," his wife Beverley said.

"When we first moved here, we had a New Look, a Superdrug, Dorothy Perkins, Bodycare, but they have all gone.

"There is nothing left."

Paul said: "It could be such a fantastic place, a bustling little market town, but there is just no thought."

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