A shop in Cambridge that gets through plenty of sweet shop supplies is one of a number of stores that has contributed to regeneration in an area of Cambridge, it has been revealed. According to reports in the Cambridge News, sweet suppliers Ye Olde Sweet Shop are contributing to a boom between Jesus Lane and Trinity Street.
The publication noted that recently a number of high-end stores filled what had been vacant premises in the area. Indeed, in November 2009, ten out of 15 of its stores had stood empty for two years. However, the area has now become a “flagship shopping” zone.As well as sweet suppliers Ye Olde Sweet Shop, a stylish continental café called Patisserie Valerie has opened along with the Varsity Hotel and other firms.
Commenting on the development, chairman of the Independent Cambridge group of shops and jewellery store owner Vanessa Burkitt said: “It is fantastic. The street is looking wonderful. This is the first time since 2006 that every shop is filled and we had been struggling. Congratulations to those shops that survived. We now only have two small shops empty in All Saints’ Passage.”
She added: “And we now have the Varsity Hotel, which opened last year. It brings in a different kind of shopper which is very welcome. We have already seen increased footfall since Ye Olde Sweet Shop opened on the corner of Trinity Street.”
Ms Burkitt also praised the owners of the buildings in which the shops are housed, St John’s College and Trinity College, for the hard work they have put in.
Many retail outlets, including those that rely on sweet shop supplies, are having to work particularly hard at present to remain in operation as a result of the ongoing economic problems and there are still a considerable number of empty retail spaces in towns and cities around the UK.