A CAMPAIGN to attract shoppers back to a Hertfordshire high street is being headed by the town’s travel agent.
Kevin Brooks, managing director of Cannon Travel in Hoddesdon, set up the Hoddesdon Town Centre Initiative and is now seeking a manager to oversee a programme of events.
Brooks joined the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce a year ago after becoming increasingly alarmed by the decline in the number of shoppers in Hoddesdon town centre.
He was elected a director, rallied local businesses and has raised £20,000 for his proposal.
Brooks said: “I thought if I ran the town like my business, I would do it differently.
“With any business, the first thing you have to do is get people to come to you.”
About 30 shops and associations have pledged support to add to the money raised through private donations, development agency grants and council funds.
The business studies department of a local school has organised a survey of the high street, and the front page of the local paper has labelled Brooks a “saviour”.
Now a series of street markets and concerts are planned for the pedestrianised high street, following the success of a week-long Italian market.
Brooks said all the high-street shops have reported increased business.
He added: “I was moaning about the street when I thought, ‘If you’re not prepared to do something, don’t moan about it’.”