As temperatures ease and we move a little closer to better weather, is it likely to put a smile on anyone’s face?

Some time ago, having done a little research, I found two or three businesses for sale in Sidmouth and it appears that number has now increased to around ten or eleven depending on which website you look at, so we have to ask: are these businesses that are already failing due to a lack of turnover, or are the owners just looking to retire? As so many websites report.

It has without doubt been a tough winter for many companies; however we did all see it coming as utility bills crept up at the back end of last summer with plenty of warnings in the media that they were set to rise, do you feel you have done your best to keep things jogging along or would you do things differently next year? If utility bills follow the predicted pattern then they should be lower by next winter, which is not much help if you signed a three-year deal last November!

The town has been quiet there is no doubt about it, would free parking help bring more people into the town? It may do but we don’t really know and with several shops shutting more than normal this doesn’t encourage people to come into the town. It is possible we are heading for a state when all the shops close in January and we simply relax and stay at home for a month and have a well-earned rest. If the council were prepared to look at the business rates for January and provide some sort of discount this could be an option as business rates are only payable for ten months of the year although the yearly cost is split into ten monthly payments and daft as though this may sound to many, who would have thought two years ago the Government would have told us to go home and stay there until further notice!