Littlehampton Traders’ Partnership is no more as members vote to dissolve group - This is why

The Littlehampton Traders’ Partnership was formed of eight local business owners, who worked on a voluntary basis to support the town centre and provide a unified voice for its businesses.

In March 2021, the group appointed Celia Thomson-Hitchcock – who has owned Ahead to Toe salon in East Street for more than 30 years – as its chairman.

Following an extraordinary committee meeting on Tuesday, January 3, members voted to dissolve the group.

Speaking to the Littlehampton Gazette, Celia said: “It’s the straw that’s broken the camel’s back. As a board, we have felt very unsupported.

"I’ve put my heart and soul in this and so has everybody else. But when you are bashing your head against a brick wall, what’s the point?”

Upon taking over two years ago, Celia said she planned to make the partnership ‘much more retailer friendly’ under her stewardship. She said she wanted to get ‘us all working together’ for an ‘improved business environment’ – whilst supporting economic health, infrastructure, tourism and greener business practices, along with increased safety and beautification.

Celia said she had requested meetings with Arun District Council ‘endless times’ but ‘I’ve never had one’.

“The policing situation in the town has been going on forever, as has the parking situation,” she said. “I’m concerned for the safety of people in the town.

"The old town centre manager was never replaced. We’ve pulled it as we feel completely unsupported.

"It’s awful and none of us took this decision lightly. We feel we’ve been used as free labour and none of us want it anymore.

"We all run our own businesses. With this in top, it’s just crazy to continue.”

In response, Arun District Council said it was ‘trying to contact’ the former chair of the traders association to ‘understand this unexpected decision’.

A spokesperson added: “We will work with the traders and other partners to try and resolve any issues they may have.”

Celia said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to have to end the group, adding: “We’ve tried to keep people informed and we thought we were getting somewhere. It’s just terribly sad. We need to take a breath and a break. We need our voice heard.”

Have you read?: Rustington 91-year-old follows passion for nature photography on safari in Botswana