Congratulations to all the business owners who have fought through the last two years and remain steadfast in their approach.

The current roadworks in the town may not be helping, but Sidmouth only has three businesses for sale, an indication that the rest are resolutely staying!

A search through the usual agents’ websites reveals only three business for sale in Sidmouth, and at least two of those were listed before the pandemic.

Granted, this is only agents’ listings and there may have been those who decided not to use agents but it’s an indication that although the remaining business owners may have turned the electric off to save money they are still here!

Surely after everything, this may provide just a hint of optimism for the year ahead and with covid restrictions being relaxed even further this coming week. Are things finally falling into place for the High Street?

Inevitably, only time will tell, but if all those new visitors who found themselves in Sidmouth for a holiday, with their favorite foreign destination on the banned list, decide to return this season then the electric may be on all year!

With the current roadworks due to be completed by April (allegedly) the town will have a fresh shiny new look and we will all be singing the praises of the council for ensuring it was finished on time and as business owners we should follow suit, making sure our shop fronts are all respectable and looking as smart as they should do.

I’m sure we are all aware of how quickly we can forget the negative situations we have been faced with as soon as things are a little more... “uplifting” (I’m trying to avoid using the word “positive”, as it now relates to test results).

Let's hope everything falls into place this year.