| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Write in support | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 06/07/23 08:34:00 |
| Ultimately making a road more difficult to cross will mean fewer people will cross it. Shoppers tend to gravitate to the north side of the road because that is where the main supermarkets are and these days very few of us can afford to shop at Planet Organic. The people doing business there (based on a number of conversations held over the last year) do not believe that there has been a compensating rise in customers arriving via the cycleway. Even on the most optimistic estimates of the increase in cyclists, once you have allowed for modal shift (i.e. people who would have come to the High Road anyway but have walked or driven) there isn't likely to have been a bike powered shopping boom. The markets have been a positive for many businesses and have boosted footfall on the south side. How much of that is new people coming to the area and how much is people who were there anyway crossing the road is hard to tell but there is no doubt that trade is up for some (if not the majority) of businesses on market days. However, some are reporting trade being down as many of their customers came by car. This appears to be particularly pronounced for hardware businesses. I don't want to overstate the role of C9 in the decline of the southside of the road. It already had inherent disadvantages such as no supermarkets, a north facing aspect which meant it is always in shade and narrow footways. However, the deterioration of the area does seem to be accelerating. It is a disaster that the new old people's home does not have retail at the ground floor and there will be a prolonged period in which much of the area becomes a building site. Once complete the hospitality businesses in the area, particularly the Fire Station will face a challenge to their existing licensing terms from any new residents that have retained their hearing. That there aren't lots of vacant units along this stretch can be explained by landlords finally realising they need to be more flexible on rents and new businesses being give attractive first year terms to set up. However, we are slowly heading to the area being dominated not by shops but second rank estate agents and enablement centres for delivery businesses. Markets can help arrest this decline to a certain extent but not a food market because that has a negative impact on the struggling hospitality businesses in the area - before anyone dismisses what I say, speak to the owners of local cafes and restaurants to hear their point of view. |