So there you have it, an ice cream shop, or perhaps parlour
is the right word.
So that is a fishmonger, sweetshop and ice cream shop in the
last couple of weeks that I know of, all good news.
What worries me though is the demise of non food real shops,
the long and arduous business of checking the prices of all 25,000 books in my
bookshop and making sure they are cheaper than the prices of books for sale on
the internet is taking its toll.
Whether this approach will work remains to be seen, the key
problem though is once you have got your food shopping, had your hair cut,
nails painted and eaten and drunk as much as they want, what will tyou do in
our towns.
Clothes shopping at Westwood Cross seems to holding up
fairly well, but I don’t enjoy clothes shopping. Finding a book in Waterstones
and buying it much cheaper on the internet, or as happened last time, finding
that most of the art books I wanted to look at in Waterstones were wrapped up
so I couldn’t look inside, well it doesn’t really provide the satisfaction I
want. Hopefully after another few weeks of this, if you buy a book from me and
some smart aleck/alec tells you that you could have got it cheaper online, you
will have the last laugh.
It is always good to see another shop opening in town. I wish it well. I agree that the town needs more non-food shops. This in order to make the town a destination, rather like Broadstairs town centre.
ReplyDeleteAgree that Broadstairs has a good non food shopping selection, though with many of those shopkeepers it is something of a labour of love or retirement activity rather than vastly profit making venture. On the bright side though it does keep the town from turning into a boarded up desert and, in the main, when a business does close, the premises do not seem to remain empty for long.
ReplyDeleteThe recent trend in Ramsgate is also encouraging and long may it continue. That said, we need to support these new shops and, in Ramsgate, that looks like developing a sweet tooth promptly. Mind you, I do enjoy the odd cornet or lemon drop.
It's similar in Margate "revived" Old Town. Sure, there's plenty of cafes, galleries and glorified junk shops, but it's impossible to buy food there to take home and prepare / cook yourself (butchers, bakers, greengrocers, even small supermarkets are all missing, as are banks and building societies).
DeleteRecently opened in Queen Street a fishmonger. that shop had been empty, apart from an occasional charity shop, for the last 5 years
DeleteLooks like you need to move to Ramsgate then Peter for food shops. And what about the Morrisons Local Store manager vacancy? Cant be long before it opens if they are looking for a manager. But for a new building society I think you can whistle, now only 45 exists and even the Kent Reliance was taken over by a plc 2 years back.
DeleteUnfortunately Cllr Epps all these openings are in spite of the council and tax provided to fund events, tourism etc. Numerous shops remain boarded and empty since WC. The 0% corruption is of course a specific waste of tax.
DeleteHow do you suggest the council supports the shops? A tourism campaign is being launched in July (but a plan for a plan rather than specifics).
Fortunately I'll have a huge Tesco just down the road from me soon! : )
ReplyDeleteFarleys has set up a stall at Westwood Cross.
ReplyDeleteThanks for 'The Last Bookshop' link. Alas, I think it could be true sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeletePeter. You don't actually expect Clive Hart to get any development agreement with Freshwater right do you? There will be no guarantee that any store that might arrive there will be Tesco. It will probably be much like Pleasurama when we all were told that Whitbread were involved.
ReplyDeleteThere is a big difference between a public company like Tesco with is track record and successful trading record and the unknown track record/directors of the developers/speculators of Pleasurama.
DeleteYou cant blame Cllr Hart for the approved planning permission granted at Arlington.
Hart is responsible for the KLM early morning flight. So much for Labour's No Night Flight manifesto - and that they were originally all for night flights. Same with the Pleasurama £25k bung. And silent on 0% fraud. Tories but with a different colour rosette.
Delete'i Scream': I've just had a tasty Sundae at a comfortable price.
ReplyDelete