Heathfield Chamber of Commerce hosts meeting about future of the High Street

Around 20 people attended a special meeting of the Heathfield Chamber of Commerce last Friday to discuss the future of the high street.

Those present included councillors, representatives from Wealden District Council, a representative for Nusrat Ghani MP and a number of local businesses.

The need to keep free parking in the town was a recurring concern during the meeting. There were worries that free parking may be discontinued when the changes to local government arrangements come into effect.

While some people expressed concern about the high street and the number of charity shops, Chris Lawson of Lawson Commercial says high streets are buoyant.

“I’ve had three people after one shop in the high street and demand for property is high. There’s no shortage of enquiries. As long as we retain free parking it will be ok. The big problem is the legalities as these can often take months to complete.

“For employers based on out-of-town industrial estates in the area the situation is different as they are dealing with NI increases and Trump’s tariffs,” he said.

Changes in the high street include the premises previously occupied by Cranwell Wealth being taken over by Peter Oliver Estate Agents and pop up bar Two Taps is looking for permanent premises in the town. There will also be a new youth centre at the end of May to complement the Heathfield Works youth employment support service which recently relocated to a newly refurbished site on Station Road.

Many of the recent initiatives were discussed such as Small Business Saturday which saw 27 shops taking part in the event and a prize draw for shoppers. Heathfield Chamber representative Mark Alger estimates that between £6,000 and £8,000 was generated.

Traders urged to take part in the current survey

Parish Council representatives at the meeting urged more traders to take part in late night shopping this year and for everyone to take part in the current survey about what people want.