It’s been a little less frantic on the political front this week, and I’ve had the chance to catch up on a few of the things that I had to do in my business, and even earned some money for a change!!
Late last week a client contacted me from Hastings who had a serious issue that he needed help with, so I decided to visit him on Monday, Hastings is not the easiest place to get to from this part of the world, you either have to chance your arm with the M25, or find an alternative route across country, I chose the former and immediately regretted it as the traffic ground to a halt as the result of an accident leaving me completely stuck for over 2 hours. By the time it all cleared and I got back home it was well past 10pm and after a quick snack it was off to bed!
On Thursday we had a visit from a company called Shopjacket, who are based in the North East near Whitley Bay, they specialise in helping town centres turn themselves around, providing a variety of solutions to help new business start ups, and to attract more enquiries from potential businesses. I have to say they were very impressive, with some great ideas, and endless enthusiasm. It is early days yet, but I think there is a lot of potential in what they are suggesting. I think Shepton has a narrow window of opportunity to really go for the regeneration of the High Street especially as we have the added interest in the town as a result of the Turn Back Time series, and I think we have to grasp this opportunity with both hands. Shepton is not the only traditional town centre in the country that has suffered in recent years, yes we have our own particular problems, but the demise of shopping in high street’s across the country is well documented.
What we need to do is to focus on what can be done, what the people of the town and our visitors want, and to stop trying to wish away the things that have happened in the past. Supermarkets are here to stay, so there is absolutely no point in having a strategy that requires the town to get rid of the ones that we have already got. There does seem to be an appetite for shoppers to return to a situation where they have a lot more choice from a variety of retailers, rather than merely relying on what one or two have to offer. The trick will be to ensure that any new retailers in Shepton have done their research, they understand what their customers want, and are capable of providing that service. From what I’ve seen the guys from “Shopjacket” are capable of providing an environment where that sort of enterprise can flourish, and as a Town and District Council we should do our bit to try to assist the process.
I will certainly be working with the Conservative Group on both councils to bring forward proposals as to how we help the process along, so watch this space for the next month and I will try to keep you posted on what is happening.
On Friday I chaired the regular meeting of the steering group for Shepton’s Townscape Heritage Initiative. The THi has been up and running for very nearly three years now, and will run through until 2013. So far we have provided grants for five properties to be renovated in the town centre, some of them are complete, while others are still ongoing. We are now at the stage where we have received applications or enquiries for nearly all of our target buildings in the High Street, Town Street and The Market Place, and in contrast to THi projects in other parts of the country, where plans are being scrapped because property owners cannot be persuaded to invest in their own properties, we will certainly be able to spend all of the current half a million pounds grant pot that is available, and will be putting in a bid to the Heritage Lottery fund for some more!
The THi is the second phase of investment into Shepton’s town centre in the seven years of the current Conservative administration at Mendip, and this intervention by the council has led to a total of two million pounds being spent to improve the fabric of the town centre. This investment is the first that Shepton has seen for close on thirty years, and if the current level of interest in our town continues it will be the catalyst for regeneration that the town has been waiting for.
Finally for this week, can I send out a plea to anyone reading this blog to support the drive to raise money for the protection of our historic Market Cross? Cllr Jeanette Marsh who is the current chairman of the Town Council has launched an appeal to raise £100,000 to enable urgent repairs to the listed structure to be carried out. We have unfortunately been turned down for funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and although we will certainly putting in another bid shortly, some of the repairs are very urgent and cannot wait. The Trustees of the Cross do not have sufficient money to carry out the work, and despite both Mendip and the Town council putting public money in, more will be needed.
If you are able to help, please contact Mrs Jeanette Marsh, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Town Council, 1 Park Road, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5BS, Tel: 01749 343984 or alternatively Neil Shearn, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Market Cross Charity, 2 Charlton Road, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5NY, Tel: 01749 342763.
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