BUSINESSES have given a cautious welcome to news Tendring Council is hiring a new co-ordinator to help boost trade in the district.

The new co-ordinator will take over the role of Clacton town centre manager Joanne Rodgers, who moved on in March, but with a district-wide remit running for the next two years.

Nigel Brown, Tendring Council’s communications manager, said: “The previous role went very well and the manager was very popular with traders.

“She proved a very valuable link between them and the council and worked on a number of events and initiatives.”

Martyn Donn, the owner of Leam’s Laces, a curtain shop in Dovercourt High Street, said: “I think it’s a very good idea.

“The whole area needs uplifting by someone who can see Tendring as a commodity, though it’s a large area to cover and Dovercourt is very different to, say, Clacton.

“We need a different type of manager to work this area.”

Kim Ward, owner of It’s Only a Dent, which sells ex-display kitchen appliances, in Old Road, Clacton, said: “I’m pleased, because now we have a focal point to go to, and if we have ideas, we can bounce them off this person.”

However, he questioned if one person would be able to support so many different towns.

He explained: “So much needs to be done. If they have a wider area to cover, it is going to exceptionally difficult for them to concentrate on all of them at the same time and give them the support they need.

“It needs more than one person to cover all the areas.”

Pierre Oxley, the chairman of Clacton Chamber of Trade and Tourism, said: “It is good the council is going to be helping and supporting a lot of other towns in the district. They do need that help.

“But I do hope there is still going to be a big focus on Clacton. The last town centre manager was successful in bringing a number of businesses and money to the area and I would not like that sort of focus to be lost.”