Month: February 2025

There is no doubt that Bury St Edmunds remains an attractive town for business investment. As mentioned last month we have had several new openings – either for the first time in Bury or relocating into more prominent premises within the town. Bellota located in the former Ben’s Restaurant on Churchgate Street was granted its licence recently and will open later in the Spring.

A number of our existing establishments are celebrating being recognised with awards. The team at Pea Porridge have retained their Michelin star, contributing to the town’s well-deserved reputation as Suffolk’s foodie capital. Congratulations are also due to 1921 on Angel Hill which was recognised on a national best value lunch list and to the Rising Sun pub on Risbygate Street which within only months of opening has been given an award by the local Campaign for Real Ale branch.

With so many people working hard to make Bury St Edmunds a town centre that locals and visitors want to spend time in, it’s always disappointing when challenges are put in their way. I’ve been following with interest the news about roadworks on the A134 between now and the beginning of May. Customers and those who work in the town centre who travel into Bury using that route will certainly be impacted.

And that’s not the only issue about to affect motorists and town centre businesses. All of us at the BID and no doubt our businesses are very disappointed that West Suffolk Council is (at time of writing this) proposing to increase all short stay tariffs in the car parks that it owns in Bury by 20p. We have made senior officers and Councillors aware that we are extremely concerned that with the increasing operating costs that will come into effect for all of our businesses in April, which we anticipate will inevitably lead to prices rising, that these car parking increases may be the tipping point that stunts the growth of our local economy. If, as I fear, visitor numbers drop, then car parking income will actually drop. We are unaware of any similar rises in car parking charges elsewhere in the District so effectively it appears to me that visitors to Bury and our businesses are being penalised due to anticipated continued success of the town centre.

Despite these challenges Bury St Edmunds is still a wonderful place to visit in the spring as the flowers start to come out and – hopefully – the brighter weather arrives too. Mothers’ Day will soon be upon us so if you are planning a family lunch on the day be sure to book in plenty of time. If you are a member business with a Mothers’ Day promotion do let the Our Bury St Edmunds team know so that we can help promote it. And, of course, the Our Bury St Edmunds Gift Card makes the perfect Mothers’ Day present.

It’s been a very positive start to 2025 for our town centre with a number of new businesses opening and several more in the pipeline soon. Steak restaurant Meat and Greet in Whiting Street, hair salon Toni Saade in Churchgate Street and C&S café in Risbygate Street have all recently opened and we welcome their investment in our historic town. And The Hestia Clinic will soon complete their move into the former Mings premises. Together with other businesses planning to open, this has pushed the rate of vacant units down to under 8% from 8.5% in October which is considerably lower than the national figure.

In addition to new businesses Our Bury St Edmunds BID reported more good news with our footfall figures for December recently, with the town being busier at that time of year than it’s been for more than a decade. Bury St Edmunds saw a higher increase than the national average for footfall figures too. And our research commissioned around mobile phone data in the town centre suggests people are spending more time here than previously when they visit.

We do know that there are still challenges though, which is why we work hard to bring benefits for our member businesses. Our new calendar of free training courses is open and includes Emergency First Aid at Work and Fire Marshal – please visit our website for the full list and details of how to book. Retail crime is another challenge that affects many businesses and I attended the first meeting of the local retail crime working group recently in which we looked at a digital information exchange system between businesses and the police.

Christmas may seem a long time ago now, but preparations for the festive season for 2025 have already started to ensure that at such an important time of year there are plenty of reasons for people to come into town. Here at the BID, we are working with partners who include the Cathedral, Theatre Royal, arc Shopping Centre and Bury St Edmunds Town Council to co-ordinate events and activities for all.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – there’s lots to look forward to in February with the return of the Bury St Edmunds Comedy Festival. The Apex, Theatre Royal, Abbeygate Cinema, The Hunter Club Arts Centre and other venues have been instrumental in making this happen, supported by Bury St Edmunds and Beyond. John Culshaw and Matt Forde are just two of the big names to look forward to.

Finally, if you were given an Our Bury St Edmunds Gift Card for Christmas and haven’t found something to spend it on yet – Valentines Day is just around the corner and with around 80 businesses accepting the card it can be used towards a romantic night out, a special gift for a loved one or a treat just for you. Details of all the places that accept it are at www.ourburystedmunds.com.