Business park attracts shoppers

Bellbrook Business Park is becoming a magnet for shoppers.

More and more people are finding they can get just what they want on their doorstep from the showrooms and “trade counters” that are open to the public, writes Paul Watson.

It’s not a retail park but there’s plenty of retail going on.

There was some resistance in the past to allowing such businesses on to industrial estates but without them Uckfield would be a much poorer place.

Some would say the amount of business being transacted on the estate is one of Uckfield’s best kept secrets but it is a sign of the times that retail is thriving as the Bellbrook lives up to its Business Park name.

Exhaustive

What follows is by no means an exhaustive list of what you can find on the estate.

T.R. Fastenings is the latest business to open a trade counter. Manager Scott Aley said they opened in November and were getting busier.

There was a wide range of products, aimed particularly at builders and DIY-ers, including everything from nuts and bolts to welding goggles and gloves.

The growth of “trade counters” open to the public is seen as a good thing by those already in place.

It’s a case of the more the merrier as the Bellbrook develops into a shopping area where people can get many of their needs.

Stuart Hutchings, branch manager at PTS (Plumbing Trade Supplies) said having a large number of “trade counters” open to the public in one place can be an advantage.

“People know they can come and get everything they want within the one little area.”

The more the better

Andy Playfoot, Topps Tiles manager, said: “The more the better, really. It will draw more people to the area. If there are only a few, people will not go out of their way to come here. The more there are on the estate, the better.”

He said Topps’ trade was split equally between trade customers and the public, with people coming to Uckfield from quite a wide area.

Mike Raddenbury, manager at Drakes Plumbing Supplies, said they had their regular tradesmen, who were usually early-morning customers.

As their visits slowed during the day, more and more retail and DIY customers would come to the showroom.

Matthew Pennells, of Pennells Carpets, put it succinctly: “We are a shop and we are open. “We do everything from the £50 job for a local elderly person to a half-million job in London and we treat them all the same.

Mr Pennell said the business was “service driven”.

Cheaper

“Independents try harder and when you get down to the bottom line it is usually cheaper than the big boys,” he said.

Pennells, one of the largest independent privately owned flooring companies in the South East, does work all over the country – both domestic and commercial.

The Window Fitters Mate – replacement doors, windows and conservatories - is another business that has been established for more than a decade.

Branch manager Pat Frawley said they deal mostly with the trade but also supply DIY-ers.

He said: “Some people are competent enough to do the work and we will give advice if it is wanted.”

Lawson Commercial, as reported last month, has sold an industrial unit with trade counter opposite Halfords in Bell Lane, for more than half-a-million pounds.

Sold

Lawson Commercial partner Chris Lawson said: “This building of some 4,000 sq ft had been available for over 12 months and there had been a couple of abortive transactions on the property.

"I am pleased to say that it has now been sold for a figure in excess of £500,000 to someone who will make good use of the trade counter facility.”

It is understood it will be used for agricultural machinery. Mr Lawson said there was little or no demand at the moment for premises with trade counter potential.

He also pointed out that some of the “big names” in this sector of business were missing, including there being no plant hire.

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