As of next month Lewes will be without a toy shop. Toymaster, which has been open in School Hill for seven years, is closing down. This following the demise of the antique shop just up the road, and the announcement that the little tobacconist and newsagent by the War Memorial will shortly sell its last packet of Marlboro Gold.
It’s like teeth falling out of gums: once one goes, they all follow. A chat with the staff in the shop reveals that nothing is wrong with business. Parking restrictions and people buying from the internet have affected sales, but they have always enjoyed a steady turnover from a large number of regular customers. The main problem was that the leaseholders, who own a number of properties in the High Street, demanded a rent increase of 50%, to a level whereby the shop could no longer operate at a profit. And what sort of organisation can? Who is coming in their place? The estate agents Oakleys. We’ve nothing against this company, but their arrival hardly makes the pulse race.
“It reminds me of Potterstown in ‘It’s a Wonderful World’, says Giles Paley-Phillips, who has been working in the shop for six years. “The town is losing its character as all the shops with any individuality are closing down. It’s very sad.” “A few years ago the Telegraph wrote a piece about the number of independent shops in Lewes, and took a photo of this stretch of road,” says Sarah Tait, an employee in Toymaster for a similar period of time. “We’re losing them quickly. A lot of customers are starting to complain that there are no shops left where you can actually buy anything useful.”
It is sad that Lewes kids no longer have a toy shop. It is sad that market forces are driving all the other useful little shops out of business. It is sad that Lewes is turning into Potterstown. And that there is no Hollywood ending in sight.