I'm a wee bit concerned that, following the announcement that Debenhams has lost almost half a £billion for the year to September, they are now planning to close down up to 50 of their stores over the next 3-5 years (Financial Times)! This is a bit worrying for Hastings Town Centre, what would happen to this large building if it closed down, and add another reason for people not to shop in Hastings, indeed, Debenhams is the only department store we have...
Though help may just be at hand, excuse the pun, following the Prime Minister's recent announcement at the Conservative Party Conference (Independent) that everything is great now, thanks to the British people coping with austerity, austerity measures are nearly over, "when we've secured a good Brexit deal for Britain..."
So, noises are being made that more money is to be made available to fix roads (already reported early this year in this blog), and local councils will receive more money from central government, for example, to help lower business rates to help town and city centres. OK, if you believe this will happen and, frankly, we've just wasted more than 8 years with austerity measures rather than investing in the economy, then you may also recognize that this sounds like a build up to another early general election, particularly noting that our MP keeps turning up around Hastings...
So, Hastings Borough Council, now has to be the time to negotiate with Debenhams, and others, regarding reducing business rates, or Hastings will just fill up with even more cafes, estate agents and charity shops!
No comments:
Post a Comment