Retail business is steadily improving in Hailsham, with latest figures showing that the town centre still falls well below the current regional and national averages of vacant ground floor commercial units.
In recent years, the town centre has welcomed a range of new businesses into the town centre, including those which have expanded and subsequently relocated to larger premises and retail spaces.
According to a recent vacancy rate survey conducted by Springboard, the percentage of vacant ground floor units in Hailsham currently stands at 7.2%, a decrease from 7.8% in April of last year. This compares to a current regional/South east average of 7.7% and national average of 8.9%.
Deputy Town Clerk and Business Enterprise Manager Mickey Caira said: “The percentage of vacant commercial units in Hailsham currently falls below the current regional and national averages, which is excellent news for Hailsham. Hailsham is the place to be and there has been a marked improvement in the number of empty shops in the town centre which has fallen considerably since last year.”
Town Mayor Councillor Nigel Coltman said he is delighted to see Hailsham’s business activity strengthening and expects to see continual improvement in the future: “The Town Council and Hailsham Forward have key priorities to work with local businesses to deliver plans to help address the issue of empty shops further and work towards a 100% occupancy rate for retail and business units.”
To coincide with the good news, Hailsham Town Council is encouraging people to ‘shop local’ and avoid the ‘lure’ of doing all their shopping online or in neighbouring towns.
“While it may be tempting shop solely online, people need to consider all of the implications for local bricks and mortar businesses,” said Deputy Town Clerk & Business Enterprise Manager Mickey Caira.
“Whilst we’ve found through previous campaigns that some local shoppers are doing their best to try to help their local economy, they also buy local products for convenience, and in the interests of the environment without the need to rely on shopping wholly online or in supermarkets.”
“Many Hailsham residents haven’t yet incorporated buying local into their lifestyles and it’s imperative that people realise what unique benefits local products have to offer. By switching your shopping habits and supporting your local shops, you can make a big difference and really help to keep Hailsham buzzing and prevent further vacant retail units in the town.”
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Terry Hall, Communications Officer
Hailsham Town Council, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2AE
Telephone: 01323 841702 | Email: terry.hall@hailsham-tc.gov.uk