January is often a quiet month in Sidmouth and this certainly appears to be the case this year especially in the High Street.

Numerous businesses are not open on certain weekdays which is obviously a conscientious decision from business owners.

Many have taken the view that a reduction in opening hours is a sensible plan to reduce overheads. It is mainly staff costs and energy bills that are reduced by not being open. However many premises will still be paying rent when they are closed.

Sadly this year we have seen a number of businesses close down in and around the town. These have included licensed premises at The Bowd Inn and The Marine on the seafront.

Apparently new tenants are lined up for the Marine premises in the near future according to a statement on social media. It’s good to see a new business, The Eatery, is lined up to go in the catering premises in Cross Lane formerly occupied by The Filling Station. This will be a business working closely with The Bagel Shop located on the opposite side of the lane.

On the residential property side the volume of properties coming onto the market so far in January has been relatively low. Buyers are still out there apparently and a few sales have been agreed. There have also been a number of price reductions to try to tempt purchasers into parting with their money. Hopefully more properties will come onto the market in the near future to give buyers more choice and therefore generate more transactions in the local market. The volatile state of the mortgage market is not helping matters but it seems rates are coming down again which is good news for borrowers.

The poor recent weather seems to have increased the number of potholes in the area. Some of them, especially on the A3052 and A375, are both dangerous and costly to repair. If a team of men, a lorry full of tarmac and some stop and go boards went out in the evenings to patch them up (even if temporarily) would it not be sensible? The cost of claims for damaged vehicles is surely higher than the cost of repairing them swiftly.

The wet weather of the past months has also not helped walkers on the unmade paths of East Devon. Personally I have stuck more to the pavements and roads but nature can still be enjoyed in many settings. Recent Sidmouth sightings near The River Sid have included the usual suspects including the dipper and the kingfisher. A water rail was spotted the other day which is unusual. Keep your eyes peeled! I haven’t seen any of our local otter family recently but I know there have been sightings.

On the sporting front it seems Sidmouth RFC are battling the weather at the moment. A waterlogged Wellington pitch and a frozen Blackmore have put paid to the 1st XV games over the past two weeks. Hopefully they’ll have better luck this Saturday at Wadebridge. On the following Saturday the rearranged Teignmouth game is due to take place on The Blackmore. In Exeter there is talk of further departures as the salary cap bites. It will undoubtedly be an interesting summer of recruitment at Sandy Park.

At Sidmouth Cricket Club we were very saddened to hear that our former groundsman and bar manager, Terry Riding, had passed away. Terry was originally from Burton On Trent and was a big supporter of the club after his retirement. Unfortunately his health deteriorated in later years but he was still seen regularly in The Bedford Hotel. He enjoyed his socialising. Rest in peace, Terry.