Is March Really a Dead Zone for Business?

“March is a dead zone for business.”

It’s a sentence that stopped me in my tracks this week.

Not because I’d never heard it before. Quite the opposite. It’s accomment that seems to get repeated often enough that people begin accepting it as fact.

But is it actually true?

Or is it simply easier to blame the town than ask the harder questions?

Let’s start with geography.

March isn’t hidden away down a single country lane. It sits on the rail network with direct links to Peterborough, Ely, Cambridge and London. For a market town, that’s hardly poor connectivity. Historically, March was built because of its transport links, becoming one of the country’s most important railway junctions. Even today, those connections remain one of its greatest assets. (Wikipedia)

Then there’s population.

People often talk about March as though it’s a tiny rural village.

It isn’t.

March has a population of around 23,000 people and is the sixth largest settlement in Cambridgeshire, larger than Ely, St Ives, Chatteris and many other towns that often appear to have stronger local economies. (democracy.cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk)

So if geography isn’t the problem…

…and population isn’t the problem…

…what is?

Perhaps the answer is more complicated.

Over the past twenty years, Cambridgeshire has become one of the fastest growing economies in the country, but much of that investment has naturally gravitated towards Cambridge and the surrounding science parks, innovation campuses and technology hubs. Reports repeatedly highlight that places like the Fens face different challenges, particularly around skills, business finance, investment and attracting high-growth industries. (OECD)

Fenland District Council certainly isn’t blind to this.

Strategy documents have talked for years about unlocking the potential of March, Wisbech, Chatteris and Whittlesey through regeneration, investment and better employment opportunities. The ambition has always been there. The question many residents and business owners ask is whether progress has been quick enough to keep pace with changing consumer habits. (Fenland District Council)

But perhaps the real issue isn’t geography at all.

Perhaps it’s power.

Walk around March and you’ll soon notice something interesting. A relatively small number of individuals and organisations own a significant proportion of the commercial property and land within the town. That isn’t unique to March, but it does raise an interesting question. Does concentrated ownership encourage fresh investment, competition and new ideas, or can it unintentionally slow the pace of change?

I’m not suggesting anyone is deliberately holding the town back. Far from it. But when a handful of decisions influence large parts of a town centre, the direction of that town can inevitably become shaped by relatively few voices.

Meanwhile, the world has changed.

Retail moved online.

Consumers became willing to travel further.

National chains centralised operations.

Small independents suddenly found themselves competing not only with neighbouring towns, but with businesses across the entire country.

That isn’t unique to March, but perhaps March has felt it more than most.

And then there’s another question that nobody really likes asking.

Have we, as local people, become guilty of talking the town down?

Every time someone says, “There’s nothing in March.”

Every time someone drives to Peterborough before they’ve looked locally.

Every time we tell new businesses, “You’ll never make it here.”

That narrative becomes part of the town’s identity.

Confidence matters.

Investment follows confidence.

Businesses follow confidence.

Customers follow confidence.

Maybe the biggest challenge facing March isn’t transport.

Or population…

Its’s Skills.

Fenland consistently records lower educational attainment and lower qualification levels than both the Cambridgeshire and England averages. That isn’t a criticism of the people who live here. It’s the result of decades of economic and educational challenges that have shaped the area. Lower qualifications often mean lower wages. Lower wages mean less disposable income. Less spending power makes it harder for independent businesses to thrive, which in turn makes attracting new investment even more difficult.

It’s a cycle. And cycles are incredibly difficult to break.

Despite all the talk of decline, new businesses DO continue to open. Existing businesses continue to invest. Entrepreneurs continue to take risks. There are success stories happening every single week, but they rarely make the headlines.

Perhaps March isn’t a dead zone for business.

Perhaps it’s a town waiting for enough people to stop saying it is.

I’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts.

If you’re a business owner, what do you think is the single biggest challenge facing March today?

And, more importantly…

What would actually fix it?