Fifth of traders want to leave Christchurch, survey says

12:00pm Friday 15th February 2013 in News By Katie Clark

CRITICISED: On-street parking in Christchurch High Street CRITICISED: On-street parking in Christchurch High Street

A SURVEY of Christ-church traders has revealed frustration, discontent and unhappiness among businesses in the town.

The town centre survey, organised by the Christchurch Chamber of Trade, was issued to traders to get views on the state of their business and the perceived threats to profitability.

Nearly 60 per cent replied with 50 per cent seeing the opportunity to expand although 31 per cent thought they were restricted due to lack of funding.

Almost a quarter of those who responded – 22 per cent – were considering moving to another location.

More than 70 per cent of traders thought poor transport links were having an adverse impact on their business while a staggering 91 per cent regarded parking as a major issue.

Ninety-three per cent said they were suffering due to the economic situation and half of the respondents said they faced considerable threats from other towns and out of centre competition.

Unsurprisingly 91 per cent of businesses thought rent and rates were too high.

On the subject of what might increase footfall to the town, 84 per cent believed the range of businesses was poor while 59 per cent thought the town was too downmarket and 78 per cent thought the empty properties were not a good advert for the town.

And 81 per cent of traders thought the council was not helping much, with policies detrimental to their business.

Peter Watson-Lee, pictured, president of the Chamber said: “The Christchurch Chamber of Trade and Commerce undertake these surveys periodically to ensure we can properly understand and represent the local business community. “It is comes as no great surprise that 91 per cent of businesses regard parking in Christchurch as a major issue.

“This survey was before the council’s recent decision to reject the Chamber’s campaign for “£1 for 2 hours”.

“It is interesting to note that even at the time of the survey 81% thought the council’s policies were detrimental to their businesses and one wonders whether that percentage will have increased given the council’s refusal to do anything to tackle the parking fee problem.

“It is interesting that half the businesses that responded said they saw an opportunity to expand, although depressing that over a fifth were considering moving to a different location.

“This underlines how important it is for us and policy makers to listen to the concerns of our local businesses.”

Comments(17)

woby_tide says...
12:27pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Since when has 22% of less than 60% of respondents made "a fifth of all traders"? it's about 12% in reality

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Freduk says...
1:10pm Fri 15 Feb 13

So you assume the 40% non-respondents are happy with the parking policy? May be they don't bother to respond as they're planning to leave soon?

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coster says...
1:43pm Fri 15 Feb 13

So the Traders are not happy with the Council, how do you think the residents feel?.

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skydriver says...
1:51pm Fri 15 Feb 13

coster wrote:
So the Traders are not happy with the Council, how do you think the residents feel?.
Is there someway we can get rid of this incompetent council, then we can revive this town to the once great place it once was.

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richt says...
2:05pm Fri 15 Feb 13

I wonder how they would have responded if they knew the council had seen common sense and allowed the new Morrisons, with all the extra footfall that could have bought to the town centre!!

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Hessenford says...
3:54pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Freduk wrote:
So you assume the 40% non-respondents are happy with the parking policy? May be they don't bother to respond as they're planning to leave soon?
Or that think its a waste of time taking part as their not listened too.

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Hessenford says...
3:55pm Fri 15 Feb 13

skydriver wrote:
coster wrote:
So the Traders are not happy with the Council, how do you think the residents feel?.
Is there someway we can get rid of this incompetent council, then we can revive this town to the once great place it once was.
No chance, not with the amount of Tory wrinkles who live here.

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twynham says...
4:51pm Fri 15 Feb 13

richt wrote:
I wonder how they would have responded if they knew the council had seen common sense and allowed the new Morrisons, with all the extra footfall that could have bought to the town centre!!
What percentage of people shopping at a supermarket with free parking are likely to visit the town centre?

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Phixer says...
5:29pm Fri 15 Feb 13

woby_tide wrote:
Since when has 22% of less than 60% of respondents made "a fifth of all traders"? it's about 12% in reality
The law of averages would suggest that 20% of the remainder would have a similar point of view.

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Phixer says...
5:30pm Fri 15 Feb 13

skydriver wrote:
coster wrote:
So the Traders are not happy with the Council, how do you think the residents feel?.
Is there someway we can get rid of this incompetent council, then we can revive this town to the once great place it once was.
I shall look for your name on the next polling card. There is nothing like putting your money where your mouth is.

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ShuttleX says...
8:12pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Are these the same shop keepers who are trying to get the Market closed? They blame the market for loss of income, rather then their sky high prices. One shop in particlur sells second hand rubbish at over inflated prices, yets constantly moans about the market costing them "thousands each week" You don't have to like the market, but at least it brings footfall into the town on a Monday. I find most of the small independent shops are happy to blame everybody else but themselves. The service you get in some of them (but certainly not all) leaves a lot to be desired. If you treat your customers as a nuisence, they will go elsewhere. I would say that the towncentre is quite well served by buses.The train station is a little distance away, but theres nothing you can do about that.There are on free short term on street parking. There are 4 reasonable sized car parks within a very short distance. Nobody likes to pay I agree, but it's not that expensive.So instead of maoning about your lot, I would suggest you give a good service to your customers. Engage with them, find out what they like and dislike, then try to adapt. The main reason we don't use Christchurch that often is the lack of decent shops and the very poor service you get.

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Julie G says...
8:52pm Fri 15 Feb 13

I am of the opinion that very few of our Councillors have Christchurch's best interests at heart - most seem to be feathering their own nest and have hidden agendas.

How much of our history, the lovely architecture and open spaces have been butchered in the name of progress yet Saxon Square is still an eyesore with too many empty shops. Rates need to be dropped and parking charges greatly reduced or in ten/twenty years time the town wont exist.

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The Timelord says...
10:09pm Fri 15 Feb 13

The range of shops here reflects the demographic and aspirations of the population.
There is nothing to encourage youngsters who would be the next generation to keep these businesses alive.
Poor service and lack of investment will see footfall deserting Christchurch to areas providing the level of customer service people expect in modern times.

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Yankee1 says...
10:16pm Fri 15 Feb 13

richt wrote:
I wonder how they would have responded if they knew the council had seen common sense and allowed the new Morrisons, with all the extra footfall that could have bought to the town centre!!
About as happy as the traders within half a mile of Castlepoint.

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skydriver says...
9:15am Sat 16 Feb 13

Phixer wrote:
skydriver wrote:
coster wrote:
So the Traders are not happy with the Council, how do you think the residents feel?.
Is there someway we can get rid of this incompetent council, then we can revive this town to the once great place it once was.
I shall look for your name on the next polling card. There is nothing like putting your money where your mouth is.
Me and many other I should think, willing do so to get shot of this lot, I may guess you are one of them.

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mrs google says...
4:06am Wed 20 Feb 13

Well don't bother re locating to Ringwood because it's even worse there !

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Victor_Meldrew_Lives! says...
7:30pm Sat 23 Feb 13

Hardly a great shopping experience in Christchurch. Nothing to encourage non-residents to go there for a shopping trip.

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