FEARS that the new St Richard's Hospice charity shop will be the "kiss of death" to Upton were raised by traders at a meeting with senior figures from the organisation this week.

Nick Hannah, who owns chocolate makers Cromwells and interior design company Hannah and Company, both on Church Street, was one of several traders to speak out at a meeting on Monday (July 15), organised by Upton Tourism and Trade Association.

"I always think a charity shop coming to any town is the kiss of death," he said.

"Malvern is full of charity shops in prime locations and when you ask people whether they shop there, they say 'no, we don't, it's full of charity shops'." Mr Hannah said he supports the charity's work but described charity shops as "disgraceful".

Others said the charity shop's lower overheads - it pays 20 per cent of business rates, is staffed by volunteers and 95 per cent of stock is donated - were an unfair advantage.

Questions were also asked as to why it stocks any new goods at all, as that brings it into direct competition with other businesses.

St Richard's Hospice financial director Barney Price said that the Worcester-based charity needs £100,000 a month to fund its work looking after cancer patients. To help find this, the hospice opened a shop in Old Street in May in the unit that used to house Wireless Supply.

As well as funding 10 home care nurses, the organisation runs a bereavement and counselling service and is raising £4 million to build a new hospice.

Mr Price pledged that all the money raised would be spent on patients in the area and pointed out that in the past Upton patients have been subsidised by money raised elsewhere.

He admitted that the shop gets an 80 per cent reduction in its business rates but pointed out that the balance was made up from Government coffers, rather than from other businesses in the town. He also promised that the shop would work alongside other businesses to try and minimise damage to their Christmas trade.