Market agents furious at failure to clear HMV
TONNES of black plastic and metal have been left behind at the former HMV shop in Town, and the managing agent of the building is furious that the administrators will not take responsibility for it.
Stacks of empty CD and DVD containers and shop fittings and stands have still not been disposed of, six months after HMV closed its doors in the Market buildings and stopped paying rent.
KPMG were appointed as the administrators, and Bailiwick Estates director Sonia Taylor wants them to face the music.
‘KPMG as administrators have categorically denied any responsibility or will not take any responsibility for the shop fit that remains in the building and, of course, we can’t do anything with the building until we get the shop fit out. We can’t even measure the space,’ she said.
‘We are absolutely furious about it because KPMG should have a responsibility for the environmental impact of the action that they’ve taken, and I’m sure KPMG are being paid for their work, why are they not allocating funds towards clearing shops like this.’
A spokesman for KPMG said it did not wish to comment, but confirmed that the lease had been surrendered and the keys handed back, and there was an impasse between themselves and the landlord with regards to the disposal of fittings which remain in the building
Over the last two weeks other retailers have been invited to take away for free any shop fittings that they could re-use, but approximately 75% still remains.
A new ethos has been growing in the historic buildings with the opening of the plastic-free shop The Guernsey Weigh and a new vegan and vegetarian cafe due to open in weeks, so the juxtaposition of the HMV rubbish has come as a disappointment to Mrs Taylor.
‘It’s a thriving area, we are busy all seasons throughout the year, it’s somewhere that people head to, it is doing really well,’ she said.
‘We will deal with the waste obviously, Guernsey Recycling Scrap Metal will take the metal, but the black plastic is going to be a problem, but we will deal with it because we want to have a thriving retail space, but we are left with this very nasty taste of the environmental impact of what KPMG have done.’
Market buildings developer McAulay Ltd has submitted plans to divide the old HMV shop into two retail units, and to create a walk through into the Inner Street from the big doors opposite the Town Church.
Some interest has already been registered in the site, and it is hoped that splitting the large unit into two will make it more inviting to retailers.
