Plea for Investment 2011

Hunstanton traders have written to King's Lynn and West Norfolk council leaders, setting out their fears for the future of businesses in the resort.

Debbie Ward and Dawn Davies, directors of Jackson shoe shop, warn: "If action is not taken now, Hunstanton will be nothing more than a ghost town with a sea view."

The letter is taken up by today's Lynn News, with Kevan Fleming who runs Legge's Menswear warning without investment, Hunstanton could decline into a town which only trades in the summer.

It's hard to see how a seaside town of Hunstanton's size is ever going to be anything other than seasonal, regardless who takes over Woolworths' former store on the High Street.

If the Princess Theatre does become a summer-only venue, people from the surrounding area will have one less reason to visit.

There are regeneration masterplans and other schemes afoot. But none address the basic problem of how to extend the season - probably because it's almost impossible to see how you could.

5 comments:

Johnny Norfolk said...

I am afraid there is going to be more of this. We have run out of money as a nation. The people understand but the government and local authorities are carrying on as if nothing has changed. business rates, car parking charges, rents etc all need looking at with a view to freeze or reduce. The government is still spending a fortune on tv adverts for example. leaflets from local authorities. there is just so much waste that should be cut out and the saving used to start paying off debt and return money to the people. How people say they will continue to support Labour just beggars belief.

29 January 2010 19:47

Anonymous said...

Surely its not just down to the council to invest. Its got to come down to the traders and what is on offer and to whom trders are chosing to market their products to. The larger spending of secound home owners seems to burn out at old hunstanton. There has got to be a reason for this...

31 January 2010 10:41

Anonymous said...

Hunstanton is in desperate need of a face lift keep up with the times no (night clubs) hunny shuts down after 6.0 pm bring new young blood in to the town keep it young at heart. Not old and sad.... life is for living

17 February 2010 22:15

Anonymous said...

What Hunstanton doesn't need is a nightclub that brings the kind of trade in that vomits on the pavement every Friday and Saturday night. How exactly would that benefit a small seaside town largely populated by retirees? What it needs is for its population to stop moaning and start shopping locally, and I don't mean at Tesco. There are some really decent shops in Hunstanton and if people used them rather than scooting off to King's Lynn there wouldn't be a problem. Hunstanton needs something like a farmer's market every month on the green. That would be really useful and would attract a wider shopping community to the town.

20 February 2010 22:43

Traceylyn said...

In reply to the last comment, i think the fact that Hunstanton is largely populated by retirees is part of the problem. My husband and myself are looking to move to the area as we want to live near the sea and have a quieter pace of life, that said, we (i am 47 and my husband is 49) are not ready for 'cocoon' just yet!I don't think that having some younger entertainment necessarily has to mean people 'vomiting in the streets' every weekend. A place without a good mix of ages can be very soul-less and i love to see children and young adults enjoying themselves. I don't think that having teenagers counting the days until they are old enough to move away from their home because it is so boring is good for anybody and i'm quite sure that is probably what happens in Hunstanton. Shop-wise, i have noticed several 'pound-shop' type establishments in the town and not much in the way of fashion, shabby-chic, unique or any other superlative that would make for a bigger influx of shoppers and visitors - i DO agree that a farmers market would be an excellent thing to have.If we do move to the area, my 18 year old daughter will be moving with us and i would hate to think that she would be driven away by boredom within 6 months. I am sure she would have some good ideas about how to inject a bit of life - maybe a coffee shop that opens in the evenings, serving tapas or pizza, with up-to-date music (live or recorded), a place where younger adults could hang out. A comedy club, maybe at the Princess theatre (if it is open). I'm sure there are lots of improvements that could be made to the town without it losing it's victorian charm.