Looking back... Five jobs lost at local Carrickfergus store after it closed down

The owners of the grocery store blamed the closure on a combination of high rates and falling trade.

A spokesman for the store said trade had dropped considerably since a supermarket opened in the area.

He said: “We are sorry to pull out from our premises in Market Place, but economic circumstances beyond our control have forced us to close.

The spokesman added that other businesses in the area were also feeling financial strain since the supermarket opened in June of the previous year.

The news of the closure came during a week when traders from the town had met to discuss ways of bringing shoppers back into Carrick town centre.

A spokesman for the traders said: “Shopkeepers are very concerned about falling trade and shops which close and remain vacant. It is not good for the economic survival of Carrick.”

Figures released at the same time indicated that the number of unemployed people in the Carrick area had dropped in recent months and the closure came as a shock.