Staines natives Hard-Fi have come in for criticism from their hometown’s local authority after the band’s frontman Richard Archer labelled it a ‘ghost town’.
Archer made the comments while conducting an interview with The Times, in which he said: “Staines is in a dark place at the moment, like a ghost town. A lot of the bars are closing, Habitat went into administration, Jane Norman, Thorntons. It’s all starting to fall to bits.”
However, councillor Colin Davis has launched a strong defence of the London suburb, insisting Staines is operating above national averages.
“Far from Staines being a ‘ghost town’, retail vacancy rates in Staines are running at 8 per cent which is less than half the national average,” he told BBC News. “This has not increased to any great extent during the poor economic climate, in contrast to many other towns.”
Alex Tribick, chairman of local pressure group Spelthorne Business Forum, was also disappointed with Archer’s remarks, describing them as ‘frustrating’.
“It’s frustrating to see the town being misrepresented. These sorts of comments can give a wholly unfair and inaccurate picture of Staines, so it’s only right that they should be swiftly corrected,” he said.
Hard-Fi released their third studio album ‘Killer Sounds‘ this week.