Palm Bay Garage in Cliftonville

by Peter Barnett

Palm Bay Garage in Cliftonville - one of Thanet’s oldest established businesses - has closed.

Customers and business colleagues were shocked and surprised as news filtered through that the company had gone into liquidation.

The showroom doors remained firmly shut yesterday, with no sign of staff and telephone calls were diverted to answering machines. A notice in the window read ‘closed until further notice’.

The garage had served the motoring needs of east Kent from its Northdown Road base for more than 75 years. It had been rated number one Renault dealer in the south for customer satisfaction and recommendations in recent years, and had also been accredited through the Retail Motor Industry’s Trust My Garage Scheme.

David Foley, chief executive of the Thanet and East Kent Chamber of Commerce, said: “The closure of the garage is regrettable and our thoughts go to the staff and the business’ suppliers.

“The car trade has suffered more than most sectors in recent years and the Palm Bay situation is a reflection of that.”

However, Mr Foley stressed that in the last three months unemployment in three of the chamber’s four district areas had reduced, with only Canterbury showing an increase in the jobless count.

He added: “Local indicators are that the economy is doing well and we can expect more start up businesses to emerge, while large projects such as the Discovery Park at the Pfizer site in Sandwich is expected to create more than a minimum of 3,000 jobs, with some analysts suggesting this figure could be around 6,000 in the next five years.”

Palm Bay Garage served a loyal client base with car sales and a one-stop shop providing services and products for most makes and models, including servicing, MOT testing, tyres, exhausts and air conditioning.

In recent advertisement features, the garage said it had “dedicated staff who have worked here for many years and have a wealth of experience,” while it ran “reward schemes as a way of saying thank you to customers.”