Clare prides itself on being a vibrant town full of independent shops. And that is backed up by a recent survey. Carried out by West Suffolk Council.

Clare has 45 shops of which 42 are currently active. All but three of these shops are categorised as local rather than chains. Clare has a vacancy rate of under 7% which is good by any standard and in line with the West Suffolk average but significantly better than the UK average of 11.7%

But we can’t rest on our laurels. Our shops need our support. Times are tough for everyone.

Interestingly, there are 1225 shops across West Suffolk.