Departing Worthing town centre manager optimistic for future of local businesses - 'More openings are planned'

Sharon Clarke, who is the director of the Worthing Town Centre Initiative (TCI), will leave in June after 20 years of service.

Despite recent business closures – with a backdrop of the cost of living crisis – Sharon said Worthing is ‘in a good position’, going into a ‘difficult couple of years’.

"Every town is suffering,” she said. “Worthing's vacancy rate is five per cent at the moment, which is far lower than the national average. Last year it was 10.4 per cent.

"Last month, we had three new businesses open and we've still got more planned with Nandos and Pret, etc.”

Game in the Montague Centre was the latest business to close over the weekend.

“Some businesses make decisions they will close,” Sharon said. “A lot of businesses – with rising costs to think about – take the opportunity to break the lease. Some think it's the right time to do it.

"The news is all doom and gloom, with rising energy and living costs. For small independents, on minimum wage, those costs are going up.

"You have to try and absorb as much as possible from customers to compete against online. It's a difficult situation.”

Sharon said ‘it's not all doom and gloom’ in Worthing, though, as there are ‘a lot of towns with far more vacant units’.

"There's a lot of town centre development here,” she said. “Debenhams is in for flats above it, we are just waiting for a planning application. Montague Quarter is waiting for permission for residential development above.

“They are starting to work on the space above Mountain Warehouse and H&M, as that's going to be flats. Those flats will be used by people who will use the town. That's a real positive."

This is the second time Sharon has announced her departure from the TCI, which is a collection of traders. In May 2020, she planned to leave after becoming frustrated by 'niggling' issues and concerns over communication breakdown with Worthing Borough Council. But Sharon reversed her decision, following discussions with the TCI's directors and huge public support.

This time, she plans to leave on good terms and having been proud of what she had achieved over the last 20 years.

She said: “We achieved our successful bid ballot. It's a good time for me to handover to somebody else and they can get have the time to get to know the town.

“I'm a Worthing resident, born and bred, and I will be looking for something part-time and enjoy our lovely town a bit more.

“We will have a nice easy transition to new person, with jobs being advertised.”

When asked to share her best memories as town centre manager, Sharon said: “The thing I'm most proud of is when we had Birdman. That was a huge event.

"We had a tiny team to organise that. Delivering that for the town and seeing the beach so busy, and to get on CNN news in America, was a big achievement. It’s something I'm very proud of.

"I just love Worthing businesses. I've loved working with them. It will be difficult to say goodbye after 20 years.”

Sharon said her advice to her successor would be ‘to listen to businesses and to what they want’.

"It's very hard,” she acknowledged. “My dad gave me a piece of advice when I took this job 20 years ago and he said 'you can't please all the people, all the time – go for pleasing most of the people most of the time'.

"That's the thing I've tried to do the whole time I've been here. I know you can't please everybody, and they all have different needs. It's about finding that line where most people will be happy. If I've achieved that, I will leave happy."