He said that ‘sky-high’ commercial rents in St Helier, the increasing popularity of buying online and the impact of the GST – which he said will encourage more people to shop on the internet to avoid tax – all threaten to inflict irreparable damage on the Island’s high street.
He wants Economic Development Minister Philip Ozouf to provide more information on the future of the Island’s retail industry, specifically high rents and property prices in St Helier.
Deputy Southern said: ‘I am concerned about the pressures on the high street because there are lots of them.
Traders in the market are already packing up.
I want to know when the Minister is likely to be able to produce a report on what we are going to do about it.’
