| AN East Grinstead retailer says the High Street\'s fortunes are looking up – and she wants to be part of the town\'s rebirth after her first nine months in business there.
Gill East, owner of Tomoli & Will, chose to open her second clothing store at 14 High Street in April because she saw signs the tide was beginning to turn.
And as she reaches the end of 2014, the 50-year-old former marketing executive believes people have started to see East Grinstead as a decent place to shop once again.
Gill, who lives near Handcross, said: "For me East Grinstead was perfect because it had some nice shops coming in and I wanted to be part of that; to be there at the start of its rebirth if you like.
"The feedback we got at the start was \'thank goodness you\'re not a coffee shop\' because that\'s all that seemed to be opening for a while.
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"People were going to Tunbridge Wells and absolutely saying they would not shop in East Grinstead, but in the last three months especially it seems people are thinking there are some good things and nice shops in East Grinstead."
In October, Gill finally gave up a 30-year career in marketing to focus full-time on the business and ensure the East Grinstead branch is as successful as the Horsham one and the online business.
Her mother made couture dresses and her grandmother was in the rag trade, so fashion has been in the family for years.
Two of her three sons, for whom the shop is named – Thomas, Oliver and William (Tomoli & Will) – make up half of her part-time staff.
Thomas, 21, and Oliver, 18, work at both of the stores. William is 15 so not yet old enough to work in the shops.
Clothing stores in particular have identified East Grinstead as the ideal place to open this year. Cobalt, which brings women\'s fashion from Europe to the UK, opened in November at the intersection of the High Street and London Road.
And on November 28 – known as Black Friday because retailers across the country promoted special offers – another clothing store, White Stuff, began trading on London Road.
Carol Everest, East Grinstead Business Association administrator, agreed the town is on the up but doesn\'t believe things were ever that bad.
She said: "Even during the recession things in East Grinstead were much better than most towns in the UK.
"2014 has been absolutely brilliant and I believe there are still a number of things under negotiation.
"There are more people visiting the town with the Bluebell Railway, and now there are more people stopping in East Grinstead.
"I believe there are also plans to start a \'station to statue\' walk [to the Sir Archibald McIndoe statue at the top of the High Street]."
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