Hard-Fi have been heavily criticized by a councilor for their hometown of Staines after they said it was turning "into a ghost town."
In an interview with The Times, Hard-Fi frontman Richard Archer said of his hometown: "Staines is in a dark place at the moment, like a ghost town. A lot of the bars are closing, Habitat went into administration, Jane Norman, Thorntons. It's all starting to fall to bits."
However, local councillor Colin Davis said that the singer had got his facts wrong, telling BBC News:
Far from Staines being a 'ghost town', retail vacancy rates in Staines are running at 8 per cent which is less than half the national average. This has not increased to any great extent during the poor economic climate, in contrast to many other towns.
He also pointed out that the town had never had a branch of Habitat and that their branch of Thorntons wasn't closing either.
Alex Tribick, chairman of local pressure group Spelthorne Business Forum, also layed into the band, saying:
It's frustrating to see the town being misrepresented. These sorts of comments can give a wholly unfair and inaccurate picture of Staines, so it's only right that they should be swiftly corrected.
Hard-Fi have not responded to these comments as yet.
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