HARROW town centre is in need of support as businesses ride the wave of the credit crunch.

Traders say the area needs to offer more choice and wants Harrow Council to do something to attract people to the clusters of shops in and around the St George’s and St Ann’s centres.

Subhani Rashidi, of Randal’s Coffee House, in Station Road, said: “They should encourage big shops like John Lewis otherwise people will go and shop somewhere else.”

He said there is less crime in the town centre during the day than in other boroughs.

The council says it is backing plans for a Business Improvement District, a scheme aimed at promoting the town centre as a destination for shoppers.

The project, which was voted through in November, will involve a massive marketing campaign, funded jointly by hundreds of shops.

The scheme could have a yearly budget in the hundreds of thousands, which is likely to be spent on themed markets, discount offers and a manager dedicated to tackling issues in the area.

The intention is to make the area a nicer place to be, not just for visitors and customers but for workers as well.

Steve Kent, manager of the St George’s Centre, was influential in setting up the scheme and told the Harrow Times back in November how the town centre was holding its own.

This week he urged residents to go there to do their shopping.

He said: “Harrow ticks all the right boxes, transport, parking and location, and therefore people should patronise us.”

Pensioner Maureen Meadows said she comes all the way from Sudbury Hill to visit the town centre.

She said: “It’s nice to have all these shops. I’ve been coming to St Ann’s ever since it opened – it’s our local. I don’t go into town.”