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Boardwalk 'could be a real gem'
After two years in the job, Southsea's town centre manager has bid a fond farewell to the role.
Samantha Fay, 33, is leaving after being headhunted to be centre manager at the Boardwalk, Port Solent.
After helping to lead a resurgence in Southsea's fortunes, her next challenge will be to reinvigorate the out-of-town leisure complex.
The two-decade old Boardwalk stands amid thousands of apartments and overlooks the picturesque Port Solent Marina, but following the rise of Gunwharf, the leisure complex has had some tough competition.
Although it has around 20 pubs and restaurants, a cinema, and several shops, including a large outdoor leisure store Snow and Ice, there are now a number of vacant units at the premises.
Today, said Sam, the Boardwalk is 'off the map' – and her mission is to get it back on.
'I've seen photographs of it before Gunwharf, and it was incredibly popular and busy, it was quite a treat,' she said.
'It was ahead of its time, and then Gunwharf arrived, and it was four times bigger, had the Spinnaker Tower, and overnight trade dropped in Port Solent and Southsea.'
They said the first thing was to survey people in the neighbouring area about what they want, and to ask companies how business can be improved.
Already, one day into the job, she has gone into 'brainwave mode'.
She said she had noticed the boardwalk itself has gaps between the planks which sometimes catch ladies' heels, and has already had a novel idea to make access to the centre easier, and capitalise on its unique selling point – its waterside location.
'Water taxis!' she said.
'Instead of park-and-ride, we could have park-and-boat. I don't know if it's even realistic, but let's explore it.
'I can't wait for it to flourish.
'We don't need another shopping centre in Portsmouth, we've got our three-centre approach but this is different.
'It could be a real gem. I've always wanted to manage a shopping centre, even when I was working for a jazz radio station.
'I'm realising a dream. Doing a job you love whilst overlooking a marina full of yachts is my idea of heaven.'
And although it is a difficult time to embark on a major commercial project, she said: 'I do love a challenge.
' I would never have taken on Southsea, otherwise.'
According to traders in Southsea, it was a challenge in which she has succeeded.
For the last two years, Sam has been organising community meetings, liaising with the police, running the Southsea Food Festival and acting as a focal point for feedback from Southsea's traders.
Although the footfall counter at her disposal was not as sophisticated as the mobile phone trackers at Gunwharf Quays – relying instead on a 'man in a deckchair' sitting in Palmerston Road every third Sunday – there has been a notable rise in custom in the area during her tenure.
Martin Whitell, business manager at John Lewis's Knight & Lee, said: 'She's helped retail traders here work together and make the precinct a lot more attractive.with things like the food festival, the development of the farmers' market, and the general pulling together of the business community.
'She's enabled Southsea to build on its existing identity.'
But with economic storm clouds gathering, the rise in footfall came to an abrupt halt in January, as the credit crunch pushed shoppers towards the bargain zone of Commercial Road.
She said: 'Things are quite tough at the moment for independent businesses.
'The next couple of years are going to be difficult for Southsea, but its future is going to be bright.
'The more people that get fed up with the big high street the more areas like it will grow.
'They'll love Southsea for its old-fashioned customer service. You can always guarantee you're going to get a smile when you walk through the door.'
The next step, she said, was linking its seafront to its shopping district, and this will be one of the tasks facing the new incumbent.
Already six people have applied for the 30,000 to 36,000 job, which has a deadline of October 12.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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