Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
High street hit hard by exodus of tourists
Canterbury’s economy is one of the worst-hit in the country due to the coronavirus lockdown, new research has revealed.
A study shows a 51% slump in non-grocery spending in the city, which is suffering like other locations heavily reliant on students and tourists. The study of the economic impact has been carried out using high street banking data by Social Investment Business, a charity which invests in regeneration.
The results rank Canterbury in the top 10 worst affected locations of its kind.
It shows that “pretty” university towns and cities, including Oxford, Bath and York, have suffered a double whammy, having lost both their students and tourists.
But the city council is confident Canterbury can bounce back.
Head of property and regeneration Caroline Hicks said: “Canterbury has always been a confident, resilient and economically strong city, a place that people want to visit, shop in, study in and enjoy their leisure time in. “Clearly, it’s a difficult time at the moment, but we see no reason why they will not want to continue to do this once restrictions start to be lifted in due course, while adhering to whatever new guidelines may be in place.”
The city is rammed with shops, bars and restaurants and attractions like museums and theatres, all of which have closed, putting particular stress on smaller business owners.
Under pressure to help, the Dean and Chapter earlier this month finally agreed to freeze rents for its 60 tenants for two months, having initially said the move would risk it going bankrupt because it had no income from cathedral visitors.
A spokesman for New River, which manages Whitefriars for the city council, said it was “inappropriate” to reveal its arrangements but added it is working with tenants towards a “mutually agreeable way” through the current situation.
Mrs Hicks says the authority’s focus is on keeping critical frontline services running during the crisis and making sure vulnerable people in the community are supported. “But we are also seriously thinking about how we can play a leading role in getting the district back on its feet whenever and however the lockdown is eased,” she said. “Every district will have its own unique challenges but we are determined to work with the business community, the tourist trade, the higher education sector, charity and voluntary groups and whoever else has a stake in the district’s success to find a way forward when money is at a premium for us all.
“It will take a giant joint effort from everybody to achieve this, but the fundamental point remains - Canterbury’s a great city and a pandemic will not stop it being so in the future.”