Are we as a town doing all that we can to make it as easy as possible for visitors?

Over the last few months, we have all been focused on generating as much business as we can in an attempt to catch up on lost time and why not, after all it’s been tough on everyone.

However, looking a little closer at what makes the town tick and how easy it is for visitors to arrive in the town and enjoy their day or few days can provide some interesting answers all of which can affect our businesses. The parking question will no doubt raise its ugly head as we move into autumn but equally the closure of toilets and the further limitation on people’s ability to travel freely through the town with every amenity to hand is no doubt going to cause some concerns.

Like many of us, the council is running a business, but a short-sighted view on changes made for short term benefit can have long term ramifications that no-one needs right now. Shouldn’t we all start paying a little more attention to possible changes in the town that could affect our business? Those who make the decisions will still be getting their salary long after the impact of their decision has taken effect on various parts of the town and reduced the potential income for some other businesses.

It is very easy to shrug off these decisions and type-cast people for their opinions from the comfort of your armchair but if we don’t pay any interest or ask questions, we become the same as the people attempting to implement those decisions just looking at it from a different perspective.

Every now and again you hear of people refusing to pay their business rates or domestic rates for their own personal reasons, with many proudly claiming they will go to jail for their beliefs, what would happen if every business in the town refused to pay their business rates for just one month, there would be an uproar, and quite rightly so, but the unanswered question is would businesses be listened to a little more by the council for having done so?