Mark Betts hair salon leaves Dewsbury town centre

Mark Betts Hair and Beauty closed its salon and training academy last Friday when the lease for its Corporation Street premises ran out.

Staff have been transferred to salons in Batley and Huddersfield, and the academy will re-open in Batley.

Owner Mark Betts said: “Our lease was due to be renewed. We just felt there was no investment coming into Dewsbury.

“We did a survey of our clients and 67 per cent said they had problems parking in Dewsbury. It’s a massive driver for people to use other towns.”

He said over-zealous parking wardens and high business rates were also factors.

Mr Betts said the town centre management team needed to listen more to entrepreneurs.

But a council spokeswoman said: “The team has been in regular contact with the business which, according to our records, has not raised any issues directly with the team, or attended business forum meetings since June 2009.”

Hundreds of young people passed through the Mark Betts academy each week, helping to increase footfall in the town.

Dewsbury Regeneration Board chairman Coun Paul Kane said: “I’m sorry to see them go.

“I only wish they could have come to us to see if we could do something about it.”

He said the board understood parking and business rates were a concern for traders.

Coun Kane (Lab, Dews East) said he would be working with retailers to look at how cash set aside in the council budget could help ease parking issues.

He said a bid was also being made for government cash which could be used to help new businesses with rates.

Follow me on Twitter @ReporterGeorge. Email me at [email protected]