Open for Business with Gerard Richardson, MBE, The well-known company owner, wine enthusiast and Deputy Lieutenant for Cumbria explores the business community in west Cumbria...
Whitehaven was badly hit by the recession of 2008 and the financial ramifications that continued to batter traders who were mired in debt.
Debt is fine when interest rates are low and sales are good but any adverse combination and it gets real, very fast.
On the face of it, Whitehaven should have been particularly well positioned to survive the recession.
Terry Ponting and his team at the Whitehaven Development Company left the structure of the town and the marina in a good place by the turn of the millennium, wages were among the highest in the country and with the Maritime Festivals still in their infancy, the future looked positive.
Sadly however, one of those pesky adverse combinations was already occurring, we just didn't know the impact it was going to have.
Internet retail was the problem for retailers and it topped off a 20 year period that saw the exponential rise of supermarkets, out-of-town shopping, and then the global recession.
The internet was the final punch, the inelegant one that Ali didn't give to Foreman in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle."
Fast forward to the current time and the retailers that survived are lean, mean, fighting machines and offer a fantastic base to build on.
Sellafield have moved approximately 1,000 staff into the town centre and the tenants of the bus station and the old town hall add to this.
Their presence has helped create a stable base of town centre users who in turn need services and to that end, Whitehaven's service sector has exploded in the last decade.
What we need now is a bit of tinkering such as the long talked about idea of demolishing some buildings on the Strand Street side of King Street to create more access to the marina, a new town centre car park and a hotel.
Let's face it, visitors to Sellafield and the supply chain companies are regularly staying overnight in the neighbouring borough simply due to the lack of a recognised brand of hotel.
Then there's the Burtons building which is a key structure in the town centre.
I'd like to see the top floor repurposed as office space, perhaps for a contractor on the Sellafield site and the ground floor let out as a café bar or retail.
The King Street idea can only be done using support from the public realm but let's face it, some of those buildings are crying out for an intervention.
Imagine the effect on King Street and the harbour with its increasing number of bars and cafes.
There's also been some talk over the years about pedestrian-ising Lowther Street, but while that would need some out of the box thinking to make it practical for the existing businesses, I've never been against any idea that has merits.
So, I believe Whitehaven has a few more years of stress, but that the medium to long-term future is very positive indeed and a lot of that, regardless of what the naysayers will say, is down to the solid support of Sellafield, the supply chain and our proximity to the Lake District which I really do believe is going to feel much smaller in years to come.
Next week, a chat with someone different!
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