Our high street is changing. A recent BBC article revealed that while salons, cafés and bars are standing their ground, boutiques and clothes shops had decreased by 11% in our area over the last two years, with other retailers (such as gifts, homewares, toy and book shops) also taking a hit, and most noticeably recently, branches of the “high street banks”.
You may already know that HSBC and NatWest will close early in the new year, but you will still be able to do much of your everyday banking at the Post Office. NB. You cannot deposit cash through a post office (due to anti-money laundering measures), but you can still deposit cheques with a pre-filled deposit slip from your bank (order a book from your bank to be sent to you). There are still cashpoints in the town if you need cash. You can also get cash from the post office and we understand that an application for a banking hub is also being looked into.
Our high street – our past, present and future
We have been very sad to see some long-standing businesses go in 2022, particularly Personality and Paydens Bookshop.
This lovely shop has been around for generations in Oxted. It used to be known as “Brockes” (HE Brockes) – if you’re old enough to remember that – and had a toy shop upstairs, as well as the books and stationery downstairs. It is such a shame to see great little shops like this closing down and we need to try to make sure that we support all our other independent shops and businesses as much as possible so they don’t suffer the same fate.
On a positive note, however very happy to see new businesses – IG Equine, Hammonds and Kinjo – doing so well and will be welcoming more new businesses in early 2023, including Playtown, a new role play based play centre, which will be opening soon on Station Road West (next to EM10).
While lots of people may grumble about at the number of charity shops, they are a valuable asset to the town: They not only raise money for great charitable organisations, but they also bring people to the high street which benefits everyone. Charity shops in wealthy areas present a huge draw for op-shoppers who travel for miles. They are also very important in the sustainability cycle as we try to minimise waste by recycling, re-purposing and re-using.
Hair, beauty and grooming salons are growing across the country in their numbers and while some people may also complain about the numbers we have in Oxted, they are always busy and are providing a service that is in demand. With people now working more and more from home, they are also getting their hair and beauty treatments done on their local high street. All this contributes to our local economy, creating income for our high streets; jobs for our residents and career / training opportunities for our youngsters and career-changers.
Totally Locally, the organisation that has made its mission to support the independent high street used the following figures (several years ago) as the basis for its fiver fest campaign:
- The revenues for Asda (UK not Walmart), Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys at the time were approx: £130bn
- The government projection for the adult population (over 16) of the UK was approx: 50m people
- Therefore if each adult reapportioned £5 per week locally, it would be worth £13.06bn!
This equates to just 10% of the revenue of just the big four supermarkets and if every adult spent just £5 a week in their local independent shops or businesses, and if everyone else in their town did the same, it would make a massive difference to their (our) local economy, so…
If every adult in Oxted / Limpsfield spent £5 a week in local shops, it would generate well over £2m a year for local business.
How can you help your high street shops and businesses to survive? Simple: use them, buy from them, drink in them, eat in them, recommend them to others…
There are so many ways that you can support your you high street to ensure it continues to survive and thrive…
This New Year, why not make one of your resolutions to support local businesses and your local economy?
🚶 Take a walk down Station Road East & West…there’s lots on offer on both sides of the station
🍻 Pick up your tipples from local merchants, such as Hop Stop and Secret Cellar
🍞 Visit your local high street baker
😃 Stop, chat, smile, repeat
☕️ Grab a brew & cake from one of our lovely independent coffee shops and cafes (even the big names are locally-owned franchises)
🎁 Buy gifts made by people in your area and from small shops. Feel good.
💻 If youʼre buying online, type in what you want, followed by “Oxted” to see if it’s available from a local business
🎨 Discover an artist or maker from your town and buy from them
🛍 Check out Oxted’s Country Market at the Woodhouse Centre (behind Tandridge Leisure Centre) on Fridays
🍽 Round off with a meal from one of our many independently owned pubs, bars, restaurants and takeaways
We all need to play a part in encouraging everyone to #shoplocal and Love Oxted will be looking at specific activities we can employ in the coming year. All suggestions are very happily received as well so if you have a good idea for encouraging people into our high streets, email us at marketing@loveoxted.co.uk.
When you support your local community, the local economy grows and your town becomes a better place to live…
