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Search forProfit-hit small traders ask for voice to be heard
Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 16:32
Retailers and business owners met town centre manager Tasha Davis to discuss the way forward for the town, now that the regeneration scheme is well under way.
Mrs Davis said work on the White River Place shopping and leisure complex, which is funded by the South West Regional Development Agency and David McLean Developments, is on target for opening next year and the new cinema should be ready later this year.
Complementary projects, such as the civic pride initiative to enhance the town's streets with granite and metalwork paving, benches, bollards and lighting, are also nearing completion.
Mrs Davis said: "People think this has been a long time coming, but the end is in sight and the works should together create a massive pull for residents and visitors alike from which all traders should benefit," she said.
Among suggestions discussed at the meeting were a communal service to keep shop fronts clean, retail training, and a proposal that St Austell should enter the Britain in Bloom competition.
What traders said they wanted most of all was for their deeper concerns to be listened to and acted upon.
Jeanette Honeywill, who owns Ouch and J2 in Biddicks Court, said: "Small traders have been forgotten in the past. We've stuck with the town but want to feel part of it moving forward. We've suffered a lot, and the work has been hell – we just hope we'll see the benefit soon."
Steve Hurst, whose family own several businesses in town including the Thin End, warned: "We've spent years talking about redevelopment and all the while seen economic and social decline. We can't hang on much longer. None of the redevelopment work has yet put money in the till.
"We've been here before and hope this time we're listened to. Looking after shop fronts and supporting Britain in Bloom are great. But neither these nor the redevelopment works have put money in the till.
"It's not about performance, it's about results. St Austell is still running at a handicap and until such time as the powers that be listen to traders and resolve major problems such as the lack of parking in the town, we will not see progress."
Dennis Shillaber, from Adeba Toys, said: "I want to believe, but I'm an angry man. We hear talk about what's happening, but still it feels like there's no-one looking to the future who is in charge and able to exploit opportunities.
"I'm still employing staff in the hope that we'll progress, but I'm working on a break-even basis – not profit. There's a limit to how long we can hold on."
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