Brighton tops for the shops

The city may not have the big department stores such as Selfridges or Harvey Nichols that have helped rejuvenate Leeds and Manchester - but that, shoppers and traders say, is the point.

More than 400 independent boutiques and specialist shops dotted throughout The Lanes, the funky North Laine area and along the seafront give Brighton its inimitable charm.

The city has risen from 29th out of 250 in 2000 to 18th this year in the annual list of retail areas compiled by influential financial research company Experian.

However, Brighton runs the risk of becoming a casualty of its own success.

Chains from London have been moving down, forcing rents up and pushing out the small family and independent businesses that do so much to give the city its charm.

Rents in The Lanes are on the up and North Laine rates have doubled in three years, with an average shop in Gardner Street now costing £60 per sqft each year.

If the trend continues, traders fear the quirkier shops will no longer be able to afford to stay open. Already, independent shops are increasingly relying on tourists as local shoppers defect to department stores in London, Crawley and the Bluewater complex in Kent.

Ter Tammar, 59, and her daughter Lucy, 30, opened Hat Heaven in The Lanes nine years ago.

They stock more than 60 brands of men's and women's hats as well as accessories and jewellery.

Ter said: "Brighton is like one big department store - that's the joy of it.

"You can find everything you could want in completely individual shops as well as getting things you can't get anywhere else.

"The big complexes are not the place to go if you want original stuff.

"Some people want to look the same as everyone else but if you want an original look, you can't do better than Brighton."

Since opening, the pair have watched five hat shops in and around Brighton close as well as other family-run stores.

Part of the problem, Ter says, is the increase in rents.

She said: "The more popular a place gets, the more the prices go up and then you push out the small people who are doing something wonderful.

"Our rent is being put up. We're all right because we have no competition but I know several family-run businesses that are struggling."

The other problem they have found is Brightonians going elsewhere to shop.

Lucy said: "Lots of people come down from London because there aren't any independently owned hat shops there but there are many locals who don't even realise we're here.

"They seem to prefer to go to London or Bluewater."

Stuart Simmons, chairman of The Lanes Traders' Association, runs the fashion jewellery shop All That Glitters.

He agrees the desertion of local shoppers is the biggest problem facing The Lanes.

He said: "We rely heavily on tourists - people from London who come down on Saturday and those from farther afield who come for the summer. It's incredibly rare that local people shop in our shops.

"I don't understand why. If local people came, they would find a huge range of very competitively priced goods in a unique environment.

"Personally, I don't think rents are a problem. Rents are bound to go up.

"The problem is footfall. I would rather pay double the rent and have double the business. If local people want to keep the unique independent shops, they have to shop in them."

Jag Subherwal works at print and poster gallery Art Republic in Bond Street, North Laine.

She said: "People will make a special trip from Birmingham and London because there aren't any other print shops like ours.

"We do many limited editions and are a showcase for local artists such as Simon Dixon."

However, she is worried the area is changing.

She said: "When I first came down here six years ago it was a lot better. I think higher rates have pushed people out. In the past few years we've seen coffee chains open and there are now lots of really cheap clothes shops that only last a year or so."

For now, though, there is a huge selection of one-off shops to choose from, something North Laine Traders' Association spokesman Peter Stocker feels is a cause for celebration.

He said: "Brighton has always been different and is constantly evolving.

"I moved here from London 30 years ago and I'm still here because the city remains different.

"The North Laine is the soul of Brighton. It's the city's secret. Somewhere like Bluewater is soulless.

"People are worried about prices going up but the North Laine is protected in some ways as it's a conservation area.

"The shops are too small for the big chains to be interested in and strict planning laws mean units can't be knocked together."

In Brighton the chain stores tend to be concentrated around North Road, Western Road and Churchill Square, giving shoppers the option of different shopping experiences.

Apart from coffee chains there are virtually no High Street stores in North Laine. However, the adventurous shopper can find everything from sex toys and incense to bespoke jewellery and suits.

It is full of one-off shops such as Vegetarian Shoes, clothes boutiques including Tribeca and Simultane, and specialist shops such as Julian Stephens bespoke silverware and Air Born Kites.

In The Lanes, East Street is home to shops such as French Connection, Monsoon, Gap Kids and LK Bennett but the rest of the area is made up of independent outlets.

There is a mix of art galleries, jewellery shops, cafs and restaurants, as well as a range of boutiques selling hats and shoes and furniture stores offering contemporary British or antique Indian goods.

The city has become well known for its shopping during the past ten years and more and more people have been coming from miles around to sample the unique stores.

One of these is Tsena in Bond Street, which opened almost nine years ago. The tiny boutique sells a range of gifts, including jewellery, children's T-shirts, pottery, handmade cards and mirrors.

It only stocks handmade work by UK designers and has been a springboard for many local artists.

Brighton company Bob & Blossom first started selling their T-shirts for babies at Tsena. They are now stocked by Harrods.

Managers Alice Rivers-Cripps , 25, a jewellery designer, and Suzanne O'Leary, 23, say they are not surprised Brighton has made the top 20.

Ms Rivers-Cripps said: "Brighton's shops are unique.

"We sell a lot of things here you can't get anywhere else in the country, like bespoke bowls, plates and mirrors.

"We get people coming in all the time with things they've made and if they're right for us we'll stock them."

Ms O'Leary said: "The city is so eclectic and North Laine is vibrant and full of life.

"What's nice is it's still a small community here so you get to know the other traders and we all look out for each other."

London's West End tops the list and Glasgow takes second place.

Birmingham's new £500 million Bullring shopping centre, with a futuristic Selfridges covered in 15,000 metal discs, has propelled it to third.