“This isn’t just a chip shop, it’s a community centre,” says Peter Singleton, owner of Jack Spratt’s, a chip shop he’s poured his heart and soul into for the past 25 years. “And I mean that strongly. This place is vibrant and alive.”
Today, he closes for good, after his energy bills went from £8,000 a year to a crippling £27,000 a year almost overnight. He opened up in 1998, naming the shop after his eldest son, Jack, and winning awards along the way, including Oldham’s Chippy of the Year in 2010.
He’s angry. “I’m devastated,” he says. “Totally devastated for my staff. My two girls here have been crying. I’ve been crying. It’s my whole way of life. I’m angry, frustrated, but I can’t be. I can’t let it do that, it’ll make me ill. I have to try and be strong.”
