The final Saturday before Christmas in Hunstanton....

STRUGGLING traders in Hunstanton have had a ‘heartbreaking year’ and are urging West Norfolk Council to help the town saying ‘we’ve never known it as bad as this’.

In Friday’s Lynn News, town centre manager Alistair Cox said Hunstanton had a loyal customer base and was performing above the national average for empty shops.
However, Kevan Fleming, owner of Legge’s in the town, said: “He’s painting quite a nice picture of it all but Hunstanton is experiencing extreme difficulty with a lack of footfall.”
Mr Fleming said problems stemmed from when Woolworths left the town three years ago. He described the store as ‘the heartbeat to Hunstanton’ and said when it closed it was ‘the biggest nail in the coffin’ for the town.
Mr Fleming, who has been in business in the town for 36 years, urged the council to plough some of the revenue it receives from Hunstanton back into the town.
He said: “The borough council gets a tremendous amount of money in car parking fees alone and we do not see any percentage come back to the same degree.”
Debbie Ward and Dawn Davies, directors of Jacksons shoe shop which has been in the town since 1984, echoed Mr Fleming’s views.
They said: “In 73 years of trading we have never known it so bad, we have survived many recessions but none as bad as this.
“We are one of the many businesses in Hunstanton that are fighting for survival.
“After three years of fighting we have had a heartbreaking year, we have had to lay off all of our staff, one had been with us 27 years. We have had to change our product line to try and increase our footfall. Whether it is enough remains to be seen.”
The businesswomen feel the town’s low rate of empty shops is unrealistic, as when shops become empty they are taken over by charity shops which pay reduced rates.
The traders urged Mr Cox to spend more time in Hunstanton, going around shops and talking to traders.
Mr Fleming said: “West Norfolk Council treats Hunstanton as the jewel in their crown for the summer months, but they seem to turn away in the winter and not look back until March or April.”
A spokesman for West Norfolk Council said: “We absolutely understand that retailers are facing enormous challenges at the moment and that is why we are organising three roadshows next year to engage with business and to work together to find ways to help keep our towns trading.”

Jacksons is Well Worth Another Look

While continuing with our Wide Fitting/comfort Footwear, we hit on the idea of selling Hippy/Boho Clothing.  This in combination with selling our jewellery and selling bright colourful bags has proved most successful, Trade has started to improve after a long hard winter, so hopefully we have hit on a winning combination.

So Now we sell:-

• Wide Fitting Footwear
• Hippy/Boho Clothing
• Jewellery
• Bags
• Gipsy Tights
• HJ Softop Socks
• Sundries (ie polishes, insoles, laces, cleaners etc)

Jacksons is well worth another look!!

Difficult Times

During the past 3 years with the recession and rising costs trade has become increasingly difficult, it became obvious that we needed to react to these circumstances so we started exploring different avenues, we tried selling jewellery which was partially successful, tried selling local cards which wasn't successful, then we hit on an idea that seemed to work..................NEXT POST COMING.......................

Our Aims

Our aim is to provide comfort footwear for people with special needs, a friendly personal service is assured by our experienced staff.

Many of our mens and ladies shoes feature easy access for people with swollen feet or limited mobility, extra toe depth and removable insocks allow a custom fit for people with orthotics or different sized feet. Velcro extensions give added fitting. Ladies shoes go upto EEEEEEEE and Mens go upto EEEEEE fittings. We stock Ladies size 3’s-9’s and Mens 6’s-13’s where possible.
We also stock a Mens and Ladies Houseshoe by DB, this has easy double velcro access, a back stiffener to give added heel support, hard wearing non slip sole, removable socks for increased depth or insertion of orthotics.
Our range of shoes is complemented by ankle and knee length Wellingtons and slippers which are stocked 12 months of the year.

  Our large selection of shoe care and accessories includes insoles, shoelaces, polishes, Pretty Polly Support Tights, Gipsy tights, stockings, ankle highs, knee highs, footsies, Pedag Arch Supports, Extra Long Shoe Horns, H.J. Loose top socks, the list is endless!

Put your feet in our hands at a price you can afford.