London Road: Shopping destination on road to recovery

The London Road shopping area has been brought back from the brink of collapse.

In a special article to coincide with Small Business Saturday, ANN TOWNSEND explains how the high street can fight back and win

Now the London Road shopping area has been brought back from the brink of collapse, it is worthwhile considering the long, hard fight it took to obtain this reversal of fortune.

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In 2012, Brighton and Hove City Council, helped by several other groups, put in a bid for a new government grant that had been announced to help revive failing high streets. Early last year, Brighton won funding of £83,000 to kick-start the regeneration of the London Road shopping street; the Portas Pilot funding of this once-favourite shopping street had begun.

So what had led to the decline of the London Road? It was already an important shopping street as early as the beginning of the 1800s; our own unit, situated close to Preston Circus, was converted to a shop in the 1840s. Right through until the 1970s, London Road had been a thriving, bustling shopping destination for Brightonians. In recent years, however, London Road became the victim of a mix of political gestures and the changing face of modern shopping.

As a typical food-shoppers' destination, it was inevitable that London Road would lose to out-of-town supermarkets. It also lost its small, easy-access car park in front of St Bartholomew's Church, when this area was redeveloped. New parking legislation in the 1990s not only offered councils a large income stream, but also played into the hands of the major supermarkets. In more recent times, these major companies have seen the benefits of moving their larger stores back into town centres (Sainsbury's, up from London Road; Tesco, in Hove). But, unlike the smaller traders who have to contend with rising parking charges affecting their trade, these major supermarkets are building their stores with free car parking attached. The small trader is having to play on a very uneven playing field.

In the 1990s, London Road also suffered dramatically as a result of the one-way traffic scheme that was implemented from Preston Drove down to the seafront. This saw all southbound traffic stripped from the London Road and all northbound traffic denied almost any possibility of stopping. London Road had lost its passing trade and, as any trader will tell you, this is an important part of their business. Despite pleas to the council by the London Road Area Traders' Association (LRATA) to introduce some short-term parking bays, this was refused - with the excuse that it was not possible (although, soon afterwards, it was made possible on St James's Street - a much narrower road, but one in a ward sympathetic to the then administration). The Co-op department store, a major anchor for the London Road was struggling. The group as a whole was not doing well, but - with the loss of its passing trade - the final nail was hammered into the coffin of Brighton's last remaining department store. A couple of weeks after the Co-op department store finally closed its doors, the council introduced short-term parking bays onto London Road. Too little, too late.

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The 1990s also saw the needle exchange for drug-users opened at the junction of Viaduct Road and Ditchling Road. It was inevitable that these people would find their way onto London Road and anti-social behaviour became a major problem.  The LRATA made an appeal to the council for CCTV to be installed to help control the situation. This was denied. Within the year, however, CCTV was installed along St James's Street.

In April 2012, the present Green administration made the catastrophic decision to increase on-street parking charges on London Road and neighbouring streets by more than 300% and reclassify the area as the centre of Brighton. To anybody else, London Road was an area in need of regeneration, but had it become - yet again - a pawn in the game of politics? All three ward councilors were members of the Green Party. Was a political point being made here?

The effect was devastating to trading on the London Road. Over the next four months, businesses saw their turnover decrease by more than 25% and staff were being laid off. Businesses that had traded there for decades were now struggling to survive. The LRATA mounted a campaign to get the parking charges reduced and, by the end of the year, they had succeeded in having them brought down to £2 an hour.

Along with the Portas Pilot funding, this was the first move to help in the recovery of London Road. So what has the Portas Pilot scheme achieved? It needed a body to decide how the money was to be spent and the Town Team was formed. This is a group of largely local business people, all with an interest in the London Road. A co-ordinator was appointed to carry out the tasks that the town team decided upon; Joe Nichols joined us, a familiar name to some.

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One of the first actions the Town Team decided upon was to introduce the Town Centre Liaison Officers (TCLOs). These security officers not only help keep the area "clean" by moving on street-drinkers and those guilty of anti-social behaviour, but they also look in on traders, encouraging them to report crime (which has the knock-on effect of increasing the police presence) and have information on known criminals who may be operating in the area. They are also there to help and advise shoppers.

Feedback on the TCLO's from traders, shoppers, and visitors has been overwhelmingly positive and suggests they have made the most significant change to the area. The Town Team also decided that the area should be brought under a coherent umbrella and a website (www.visitlondonroad.co.uk) and logo were commissioned. Along with its new Facebook and twitter accounts (@VisitLondonroad); with more than 2,000 followers, these have helped put London Road back on the map, keeping people informed of what's happening.

The jointly-funded Shine on London Road art project in December last year saw a series of contemporary and inspiring external installations exhibited in the run-up to Christmas. A number of the local businesses also took part in the Dressed for Success window display coaching programme and final competition, coming away with a proud selection of prizes. In more recent times, the Town Team also allocated some match funding for premises to carry out improvements to their shop fronts. Those who successfully applied have seen their facades given a facelift and are reporting an increase in turnover and very positive feedback from new and existing customers.

But not everything happening on the London Road has been down to the Portas Pilot funding. The redevelopment of The Level and the re-opening of the Open Market have brought many new and old customers back to the area. With more than 45 stalls and 12 studios, it is now buzzing with shoppers.

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With new life flooding back into the London Road, we are also seeing new and different businesses looking for a foothold. In recent months, the Al Campo Lounge moved into the old Blockbuster shop, next door to Emporium, Brighton's newest theatre and now offering a traditional family panto this year. The number of new eateries that have now moved onto London Road are making it ideal for an evening out, where you can also take in a show or a film at the Duke of York's.

All in all, after a long time coming, it can now be said that London Road is on the road to recovery. This has come with a lot of hard work and dedication by a committed team of people, who have never given up when faced with economic trends or political lunacy and have always seen the necessity of saving a shopping street loved by many and providing the livelihood of others. It was worth fighting for; London Road is once again a destination for Brightonians.

Ann Townsend is co-chair of the London Road Area Traders' Association