Wealden District Council’s ‘Wealden Local Plan’ continues on its way to adoption. It has now been submitted to the Secretary of State who has duly appointed an inspector to determine whether it is ‘sound’ and legally compliant. It’s probably already out of date. The survey that underpins the assessment of Forest Row certainly appears to be. The plans states (para 25.48) ‘The survey found that Forest Row is a relatively attractive, healthy and viable centre, and is performing well against many of the health check key performance criteria. For example, vacancy levels in the centre are low, which is a positive sign of the performance of existing shops and services and the good demand for space where vacancies do occur.’
A few days ago I counted, with the local barber, ten empty, or soon to be empty, shops. Maybe they all have prospective tenants – hopefully not more coffee shops as the number of places where it is possible to purchase a coffee in the village is also in double figures. There could be a vacancy for a nail bar though I won’t be using it. Hair attended to I crossed the road to the ironmongers which is having a closing down sale to see if I could get a circular sanding disc attachment for a drill. They didn’t have it so I went to Homebase in East Grinstead who had the sandpaper discs but not the disc attachment – which is an odd way of doing business. So I came home and bought it online and it was delivered free delivery the following morning. The problem in a nutshell. The solution might take something bigger.