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| LUMLEY ROAD SKEGNESS LOOKING WEST |
There has been much comment over the last few months, both on the internet and in the local press as to the shopping available in Skegness, be that what we have lost, what we have now or what we would like to see.
I have a lot of sympathy with those that would like to see a better range of shops and therefore choice in the town. My concern is how this can be achieved. I have spent a lot of time looking at this problem and so far I have not been able to come up with a solution.
There is an awful lot said about the fact that Skegness is full of "tat shops". By that I think people are talking abou the "bucket and spade" shops and those aimed predominantly at the tourist market that are prevalent. Is that fair though? If you consider that the population of Skegness is approximately 21,000 residents and this grows ten-fold in the summer, would it not appear correct that those entrepeneurs who wish to open a shop would do so aimed at the largest audience of shoppers, i.e. the tourists? Is that fair to the residents? I think it is correct to assume that those people who wish to run a shop do so on a commercial basis and thereby they wish to make money from it. Hard as it may be to take, that money is to be made from the tourists, in the main, and not the local population.
Skegness has a population of approximately 21,000. What sort of mainstream shops would that support on an all-round annual basis? Is it a large enough population to attract large stores that can then make the sort of returns that they need to be viable? It has been said that many people from the outlying villages around the town would come into Skegness rather than go to the already existing retail centres, such as Boston, Grimsby and Lincoln, thereby boosting the numbers, but would they. Possibly so, but in the numbers required to support large stores? From a commercial point of view would a large retail business that already had a successful store in one of the locations listed wish to open another one in Skegness? Would they not already be receiving the custom of the people of Skegness and the surrounding area at their established stores? Interesting points.
Another thought that occured to me is where would we be able to locate large stores in the town. The obvious answer is Lumley Road, but is it really an obvious answer? Are the buildings on Lumley Road suitable for large stores? Do they have sufficient floor area and is there enough storage space for goods? Are the buildings able to supply the facilities needed for a company wishing to put in a large store?
If Lumley Road is not suitable, what are the alternatives? Build stores out of town? Expand the retail park off Wainfleet Road. Build another one? Would that be commercially viable? Is that what the town needs? A complete re-vamp of Lumley Road, possbily turning it into a pedestrian precinct, or at least a part of it anyway? Is that a possibility? All of those ideas could work but where is the money going to come from to see them become a reality? Is the town an attractive enough business proposition for a commercial enterprise to take something like that on?
What about smaller more specialist shops? Would they be viable without being able to ride on the coat-tails of larger stores? If we are talking about low volume sales then the profits would have to be fairly high on the sales made. Therefore we are moving towards the luxury end of the market. Given the large amount of deprivation we have locally, are there enough people in the town with the financial ability to support such shops?
Much has been made of the level of the perceived high rents and business rates applied to the town. If these items are high, what can be done about that? Business rates are set by central government and apply nationwide. Is it possible to be granted local exemptions relating to business rates? Rents are set by the owners of the individual properties, the landlords. Would it be possible to persuade them to lower the rents? Only, I would think, if the tenants started disappearing because the rents are too high. That is a complete Catch-22 situation though isn't it?
So there are my thoughts and questions about the situation we are in at the moment. Is our situation any different for any town of our size? I am sure the rurality of our county and the distances between Skegness and the existing retail centres make matters worse but that is not something that can be changed.
There are plenty of solutions to the problems that I have highlighted but there are two main issues that I cannot get round. Firstly, who has the money to pay for those solutions and secondly if stores are attracted to the town would they be viable and have a long term future? Has anybody got any viable answers?
This is a big, big issue that will take big, big solutions.
