Last updated 07:53, Friday, 11 July 2008

A £25,000 MARKETING campaign has been set out for Workington town centre, two years after the opening of the multi-million-pound redevelopment.

The move is in response to a review by Allerdale Borough Council following concern about the number of empty shop units and complaints about parking in the area.

Part of the review has included an analysis, focusing on the town’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Following a meeting of Allerdale’s community overview and scrutiny committee, the council has commissioned consultants to look at a marketing strategy in a bid to raise the profile of the town centre as a whole among visitors - not just its shops.

Committee members felt parking remained an issue and that the impact of the Tesco Extra development at the Cloffocks - due to open next year - needed to be explored.

A council spokesman said: “The marketing strategy is designed to raise the profile of the redeveloped Workington town centre, including the innovative use of public art, and highlight its regeneration in a bid to attract more visitors to the town, including shoppers.”

Committee chairman Councillor Barbara Cannon said: “The message from the owners is that they are working hard behind the scenes to fill the empty units but matters have been made worse by the credit crunch which began before the completion of the town centre.

“Shop owners remain optimistic and the impression I got from the meeting was upbeat and positive.

“It benefits the town if we talk it up rather than talk it down, and it was felt that initiatives like the Paint the Town Red festival are just what the town needs.”

Martin O’Rourke, an agent working on behalf of the shop owners, said they saw the customer base as being drawn from Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Keswick, Penrith and Carlisle.

He added: “Agents are working hard to conquer the ‘it’s grim up north’ mentality by providing evidence of the opportunities available.
“Eighty-seven per cent of the units are taken up and only 13 per cent of the units are empty.

“In the current economic climate this is a success story, especially since the new town centre has only been open two years.”

Councillors were told most retailers were trading well despite difficult economic circumstances. Body Shop, for example, was the best-performing store in the North West.

The footfall through the town centre averages 100,000 and last Christmas reached 160,000 during the switch-on of the festive lights.

This comes despite economic problems revealed in a recent national survey which has shown that the UK faces a serious risk of recession within months.

The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) quarterly report found the credit crunch and rising costs had dented the most important sectors of the economy.

Mr O’Rourke said that, while it was not in the owners’ interests to have empty units, it was important to remember they did not want to attract any more discount retailers.

And he disputed many traders’ claims that rents are too high. He said incentives on offer include kitting out units costing between £150,000 and £200,000, turnover-based rates and contracts where retailers could walk away after five years.

Town centre bosses have also moved to scotch rumours that Debenhams has a free lease - insisting it pays rates in the same way as other retailers.

Ross Sinclair, who owns Sinclair’s Jewellers, on Rismond Place - which relocated from Oxford Street two years ago - praised the new development.

He said: “Moving to the town centre has been really positive and footfall has been good. Being in the middle of town has generated a lot of extra business.

“I am sure the new town centre has made a difference because it’s made Workington into a more pleasurable place to shop.

“The only down side is we have a bit of a mish-mash of different art projects.”

However, he added: “They could have done a lot more to put Workington on the map as a shopping centre. It will be great if we can get people coming into town and stop seepage into other towns.

“There are certainly issues that still need to be addressed. Our rates have doubled. Bigger businesses can absorb these costs more easily.”

Alan Moore, who owns Intrim Fitness, said: “Every month our turnover goes down.

“The guy who says rents are not high is only saying that because he obviously doesn’t have to pay them.”