Waltham Abbey shopkeepers report fall in trade despite Olympics - as both tourists and locals give town centre a miss

A controlled parking zone set up around Lee Valley White Water Centre has been successful in safeguarding spaces for residents and workers - with nearly 120 penalty notices issued in the first four days of the Games.

But, with spectators encouraged to take a park and ride service directly to the site or travel by rail to Cheshunt station, an anticipated flood of potential shoppers has failed to materialise.

And fears of mobbed public transport and busy streets have led even regular customers to avoid the town during the Games, traders say.

Mick Kent, 55, who works in Abbey Fruits greengrocer in Sun Street, said customer numbers had dropped by about a quarter since the Games began.

“Tuesday afternoon is market day –  and we had about 10 people on the street," he said.

Colleague Julie Hopwood, 48, said regular shoppers had been avoiding areas close to Olympic venues.

She said: “It’s worse than ever. I think tourists have been coached or bussed in and a few might have walked past, but they’re here to watch the sport.

“It’s been dire, really. I don’t think anybody apart from the sponsors have earned any money out of the Olympics.”

Sun Inn barmaid Toni Hiscott, 41, said the Sun Street pub had also seen a fall in trade.

“Definitely during the day it’s been quieter,” she said.

Tony Lane, owner of Tony’s Pie and Mash in Market Square, said: “It’s not been great. We’ve been ticking over, but no more than usual and maybe a little bit less. If it was for a longer period you couldn’t take much more of it."

He said Waltham Abbey Town Council had initially suggested the Olympics would be 'better than sliced bread' for traders.

“When we went to the meeting two years ago they were telling us that hundreds of thousands of people would be passing through Waltham Abbey.

“It’s down to the timing. People are going in at 10 in the morning and they are not coming out till six o’clock. They’ve spent £150 on a tickets – they’re not out to shop.”

District and county councillor Elizabeth Webster - who is mayor of Waltham Abbey - said: "My heart goes out traders.

"We always knew the Olympics were only going to last for a few days, but we have got to build on it and seize the opportunity because the White Water Centre will create a legacy for Waltham Abbey.

"What we have got to do is try and make it so that families visiting the centre want to go down to the town.

"We have so many historical things in and around Waltham Abbey. It would be great to have local facilities that they could stay in for a long weekend."

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