Holbeach Business Forum chairman David Hudson says that investing in making his rented shop look smart and welcoming is a road to commercial success that other Holbeach businesses can follow, and profit from.
David and his wife Debra opened Toto Shoes 18 months ago on a prominent site that greets visitors at 2 High Street.
David said: “Debra and I have lived in Holbeach when it was a thriving commercial centre and we’re convinced it can be so again.
“ I have a job and she has a hairdressing business but we decided to rent ourshop from the parish council and do it up as a catalyst for bringing back the good times to Holbeach.
“We’ve shown that you can open a nice-looking shop with decent quality products and survive here.
“In the business forum we can’t make landlords smarten up run-down high street buildings but we can show that it pays to do so.
“There are lots of great shops and other businesses in Holbeach that look after their premises and a few that don’t.
“In the Business Forum our first step has been to ask the district council to waive market stall rents to encourage new businesses to get off the ground in Holbeach.”