Businesses in Brean have lost hundreds and thousands of pounds since Pontins Brean Sands closed unexpectedly this time last year, with local retailers saying “we need some certainty.”

Though MP Helena Dollimore and Rother District Council are engaged in talks with owner Britannia Hotels over plans for the site, the sudden loss of 80,000 tourists has had a substantial impact on trade.

“You can’t have a site the size that Pontins is, that could accommodate about 3,000 guests at a time, suddenly close and it not have an impact on the small businesses around the village,” vice chair of Rye and District Chamber of Commerce, Sarah Broadbent, told the BBC.

“Some would have argued that most guests would have stayed on the site and kept their spending there, but when they ventured out to buy an ice cream, a cup of coffee, or a pint of beer, those numbers really start to stack up.”

Speaking to reporters, convenience store owner Palanisamy Thurairaja said takings had dropped by £300,000 this year.

“It’s very quiet, and the business is struggling,” he said. “I can cope with that for one year, but not if it keeps going on. We need some certainty about what will happen.”