Oakham's traders and council officers will get together to brainstorm ideas on how to breathe new life into the town centre. 

The town council and county council are calling on all businesses and traders operating in the centre to go along to the Wisteria Hotel on Tuesday evening (October 22) for a meeting to discuss what can be done to enhance the flagging high street. 

Shop closures coupled with the partial closure of a road leading from the town centre have caused problems for businesses.  

The county and town council are joining forces to think of a new way forward. The council has said money may be available from government funding it has received to support the town centre. 

Chris Gunby, owner of Creme Hair and Beauty in Mill Street, has been instrumental in kickstarting the meet up.

Chris Gunby's salon on Mill Street is thriving but he worries about the future of Oakham High Street for other small businesses. (Photo: LDRS)

He has run his salon for 27 years and while he says that his own business has never been busier, he is conscious the town centre needs more visitors. 

After covid he helped set up Mill Street Traders Association with other business owners on the street and they have made efforts to increase footfall, although the July closure of nearby Brooke Road has impacted the number of shoppers. 

He said: "A lot of the old established stores that people used to come to the town for, like Furleys, are no longer around. 

"The communication from the councils has not been great, and so I'm hoping that this meeting will help things improve. We all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet and we now need someone to put it all together." 

Market trader Steve, from Wesses Bakery, has been selling in the town for more than two decades and said in recent years he had noticed that shops were opening and then closing down after a short period. 

Owner of High Street sandwich bar Hoagies, Andrea Leeson, said an issue is that some rental rates are too high, although she said her own 'landlord' was lovely and has not increased rents like many. She said the town centre did need some investment, and pavements needed to be refurbished, but is very against the idea of pedestrianisation.  



There is the looming presence of empty shops on the High Street, including the large bank building. (Photo: Grace Kennington)

Christopher Evans, clerk of the town council, delivered a leaflet to each shop on Wednesday and hopes that businesses owners will take up the invitation. He said currently the town council did not even have a comprehensive list or contact details for all the shops in the town. 

A town centre study commissioned by the county council last year found that despite having a good mix of independent shops and a good retail offer, the town had fewer leisure services and restaurants than the national average. A phone survey found that most respondents visited the town centre at least twice a week and predominantly to buy food. When asked what they liked most the most common answer was that the centre was close to their home. The biggest dislike was the empty shops and the lack of choice in the non-food sector. It found that the high street is adversely impacted by the large number of cars going through it, but considered if this was reduced it would impact on town centre usage. 

It concluded: " ... a successful town centre relies on a regular programme of investment and enhancement to benefit from continued levels of patronage by residents and visitors. Oakham town centre currently has a number of prominent vacant units, for which a strategy is needed to improve their visual appearance." 

A Rutland County Council spokesperson said: "We're looking forward to meeting with businesses and the town council to talk about Oakham town centre. We want to look at ways that we can work more closely together and where there may be potential to use UKS funding to support our local economy." 

The meeting takes place at the Wisteria Hotel on Tuesday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.