Leathermarket on its last legs

QUESTIONS are being raised about the future of a chunk of Edenbridge town centre following a mass exodus by local businesses.

The town's Leathermarket has lost its second-to-last trader because developers are not telling people their plans for the area.

This is the view of Umesh Saini, who packed up D&M News and Toys and transferred it to the top of the High Street. He said the move was due to the "uncertainty" of his future at the site.

The area is now only populated by the fish and chip shop Tom Bell – which has been forced to put up signs saying it is not shutting up shop for good.

Mr Saini said: "There was too much speculation about what they were going to do with the site.

"Somebody said they thought it would be a block of flats.

"At the first opportunity I thought 'Right, that's it'. I am not looking back either, this (new premises) has been great.

"The area was very run down, every time I would open my shutters it would look quite depressing."

The shopkeeper also said he had only been offered a five-year lease when his ran out, and that he had been seeking a 25-year agreement.

The area, which was once home to a florist, launderette and a host of other firms, is owned by the Freshwater group based in London.

Peter Bolton, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, spoke to the Courier about his concerns.

"It has always been an eyesore – it is just a concrete block," he said.

"It looks like Beirut with it all boarded up. They need to hurry up and decide what they are going to do with it."

Mark Jenner, company secretary for the Freshwater Group, refused to say what type of development was being considered for the site.

He said: "This is a potential development site for us and we do have experts looking at it.

"We have had people looking at this as a project for a little while to see if we can get more value.

"Edenbridge is a difficult, small town to make an investment with, it doesn't have the population or the footfall.

"With the best will in the world it is not a busy place, but we would like it to be."

What do you think about the state of the Leathermarket? Comment on this story online at www.thisiskent.co.uk/edenbridge