A BUSINESS in the heart of Knutsford has decided to shut up shop after 16 years.

The Lemon Tree owner Stuart Nelson, 49, has decided to spend more time on his burgeoning property business and at his home in the south of France.

He told the Guardian he had enjoyed working in the King Street store over the years, but now was the time to move on.

“For the past three years I’ve been planning to go, and with the lease up my other business needs more of my time,” he said.

“Business is quieter than it has been in the past, but it has still been a really busy shop.

“You don’t tend to get shops this size in Knutsford, and it’s the reason we have survived. I can count at least 100 businesses and shops that have come and gone since we’ve been here.

“What sells this place is the size, and we’ve always been a destination shop – when people come for a coffee they come in and have a browse.”

Stuart said he had been commuting from Bolton for the past 16 years, and the commute was becoming a burden on his time.

“I was born seven miles from here, but I live north of Bolton,” he said.

“The plan when we bought the shop was to move from Bolton and I would walk to work. But then our first child was born and then there was a discrepancy in the housing market so we never did it.

“My commute takes three or four hours every day, which takes its toll – it’s a fair old trip so it’s time. It has been a nice place to work but it’s quite time-consuming. When my two children grew up I never saw them on a Saturday, so it will be quite a change.”

The lease on the store is up at the end of the May, but Stuart said the shop will remain open until the stock goes.