Multiple shops closed in Ipswich the past year but Council remains optimistic
Ipswich Borough Council has plans in place for new businesses to enter the town and increase footfall.
Ipswich Borough Council remains positive business will thrive again, despite multiple shop closures in the last year.
David Ellesmere, leader of Ipswich Borough Council told us he understands local businesses are struggling with bills and hopes their plans to increase footfall will help.
"For for individuals, some of the the main issue affecting businesses is energy costs.
"And what we've seen, for instance, those who have announced that they were shutting down, specifically cited rising energy costs as one of the reasons.
"So on the one hand, businesses are facing increased costs but equally because everybody has got less money to spend, they're seeing less football, few people going in (to Ipswich) as well."
What is being done to help these businesses?
David told us their main focus is increasing the footfall so that these businesses have more customers.
The way they are approaching this task is by encouraging more investors and shops to come to Ipswich.
"We do know that there is from our contacts in the Council, there are other retail interests. There are other retailers looking to come in.
"And we do know that there is still interest in occupants in the Town Center. (For example) We've had the botanist come in recently to the old post office.
"Just this week we saw Franklins expand to a big new shop. Sports Direct has said that they're looking to open in the old British Home store, before the end of the year.
"And they're looking to open a Flannels in the old H&M. That's why H&M went was because Fraser Group, owned the building and they want to put a Flannels in there. So they got H&M to leave.
"So there is still interest there. There are still people looking to come into the Town Center."
David did inform us that H&M is looking to return but in a different location.
He also told us that the shopping centre Salemakers is under new ownership.
"Salemakers was bought recently by new investors and they have put quite a bit more emphasis into filling some of those empty units. And there is more life in Sailmakers now.
"There are empty shops and the town centre is facing a tough time, but it isn't all doom and gloom, there are some positive signs."
"We do own property in the town centre we're getting new occupiers in there.
"We're showing that we can attract people. So we had the old post office which is a historically listed building and we managed to attract The Botanist there, which is a good quality occupant and brings people into the Town Center.
"We are doing a lot of work around the Town Hall, which is the other main building in the Town Center.
"We've got, in the former little Waitrose, we've got 'Dough and Co' are opening up a new restaurant there.
"We've done a deal with the County Council to move the Registry Office ceremonies into the Town Hall so people will be able to get married in there. Which again will be good for bringing people into the Town Center.
"And we know that the restaurants around there are very keen to do deals for receptions and so on. So again, bringing people into the Town Center.
"Saint Elizabeth Hospice will be opening a new cafe in the Town Hall soon, and we're also talking to a potential restaurant operator, to open another restaurant in what is currently the customer service centre in the Town Hall."
Ipswich Borough Council receives ÂŁ25 Million in Funding
Davis told us this money will be going into the town.
"We've won ÂŁ25 million worth of funding from the government through the town deal.
"There are some key things there that will help in the Town Center.
"So there's an ÂŁ8 million fund that regeneration fund and the purpose of that is to specifically to bring vacant units in the town centre back into use.
"So the idea is, if there's a particular problem, a long-term empty building, we could buy it or lease it, renovate it and then sell or let it out again.
"And then use the proceeds to move on to another one so that that will be a big help for us."
David went on to tell us more about what Ipswich Borough Council's plans are to help.
"We've got quite a few new developments which are going to bring housing into the Town Center.
"At Lower Brook Street, the old Archant office site. We've got Galliard homes building development on the Grafton Way site.
"The Council's converting the old BT officers on Bibb Way and that will be 150 new homes in there.
"Then added on top of that is the development of Ipswich Garden suburb which is going to be about 3000 homes eventually.
"that's going to generate potentially more football for the Town Center.
David also wanted to clarify that the Ipswich Borough Council is not responsible for the rent the vast majority of the buildings have to pay.
"The majority of it, is owned by private landlords. "So people usually say, well, you could just reduce rents, but actually we don't control rents and equally the other thing that people say is well, you could reduce business rates, but we don't control business rates either.
"The government sets business rates, the level of business rates, the Borough Council collects them for the government.
"So we tend to get the blame for it, but it's actually the government that sets those rates."