Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Brentwood bookshop to close after 14 years amid rising costs
The Chicken and Frog bookshop will close in January after 14 years in Brentwood, Essex.
Owner Natasha Radford says higher bills and business rates have made it difficult to keep the independent shop going.
She also says customer footfall has been so low that she has sometimes gone a whole day without a sale.
The shop offered more than books, running workshops and providing a sensory space for families and neurodivergent children.
A customer described it as a haven for families and neurodivergent children and said its closure would be a major loss to the town.
Radford says electricity bills have tripled since the shop opened, while annual business rates rose from £2,868 in 2024 to £8,435 this year.
The government says changes in the autumn Budget will give some high street businesses more breathing space, though it acknowledges that not all shops will benefit.
The Chicken and Frog bookshop will close its Brentwood town-centre shop in January after 14 years.
Owner Natasha Radford said sharply higher bills and business rates, along with low town-centre footfall, had made the business difficult to sustain.
The shop runs workshops and provides a sensory space used by families and neurodivergent children.
Customer Stephanie said the closure would be an “immense loss” to Brentwood.
The Treasury said changes announced in the autumn Budget would give high-street businesses “more breathing space”.
- Who
- The Chicken and Frog bookshop and its owner, Natasha Radford.
- What
- The independent bookshop will close its Brentwood town-centre shop after 14 years.
- When
- The shop is due to close in January. The article does not specify the year.
- Where
- Brentwood town centre, Essex.
- Why
- Radford cited a huge increase in bills and business rates, as well as low footfall.
Natasha Radford
HM Treasury
Business rates and costs
Natasha Radford
Radford said her electricity bills had tripled since the shop opened and her annual business rates rose from £2,868 in 2024 to £8,435 in 2026.
HM Treasury
The Treasury said the autumn Budget would give high-street businesses “more breathing space” by raising the rateable-value threshold for paying business rates to £18,000.
Impact of policy
Natasha Radford
Radford said allowing community hubs to close was a “massive oversight” by the government.
HM Treasury
The Treasury said some areas were more expensive than others, so certain shops would not benefit from the changes.
The government reduced its temporary 75% business-rates relief discount to 40%.
Radford said her annual business rates had risen to £8,435, from £2,868 in 2024.
The BBC reported that the bookshop had announced it would close in January.
- Shop
- The Chicken and Frog
- Location
- Brentwood town centre, Essex
- Years in operation
- 14
- Owner
- Natasha Radford
- Annual business rates
- £8,435 in 2026, up from £2,868 in 2024
- Planned closure
- January
What people are saying
It means the world because running your own business is difficult. It becomes all-consuming,
communities felt "fragmented
Natasha and her husband treated everyone who came into their shop as a close friend and went above and beyond to help,
more breathing space