GREEDY landlords, gridlocked traffic, lack of car parking and empty shops are all taking their toll on one of Haslemere's shopping centres, according to traders and residents. Now traders are biting back in an effort to revitalise Wey Hill and rid the area, still popular for its specialist shops, of at least six empty, blank- faced shops. Several have been empty for years and still retain their old shop fittings, some look as though the tenants left in a hurry, leaving behind various amounts of rubbish, while the remainder appear to be used purely for storage purposes. The latest shop to call it a day was Unwins, the country-wide off-licence, which ceased trading and closed its doors at the end of last year. This month, the Haslemere Chamber of Trade and Commerce is calling on its members, in its latest newsletter, to suggest ways of improving matters. Traders are asked to comment on widely held views that the opening of Tesco in 1999 has affected trade and on whether the proposed relocation of Haslemere Library, eventually, to the Fairground car park at the top of Wey Hill, will impact on their businesses. They are also asked to come up with ideas for enhancing the area. "It's dreadful to see so many whited-out shops, half of which don't appear to be on the market," claimed Melanie Odell, a former president of the Haslemere Chamber of Trade and now chairman of the Haslemere Initiative, which encourages more shoppers and visitors to come into the town. "One of the ideas is to put something in the windows of the shops, to make the area look less dreary and sad, and encourage all landlords who own shops to market them," added Mrs Odell. "The Chamber of Trade wants to see vibrant shops like the rest of the town. "But what we don't want to do is to put the street through another improvement plan, which isn't going to do anything," said Mrs Odell. She was referring to an improvement scheme for Wey Hill that failed several years ago and a proposed tree planting scheme, which was intended to brighten up the area, but was dropped because of technical problems. Mrs Odell concluded: "We will be working hard with the relevant councils to get the trees sorted out and encourage landlords to market their properties." The vice president of the Chamber of Trade, Amanda Baker, whose husband Alan's family have had shops in Wey Hill for around 40 years, said: "We feel very responsible because we are quite big players in the area. Perhaps plants and features like banner posts across the street to advertise things that are going on in the town, as well as Christmas lights will help. "We need to try and restore the pride in Wey Hill," said Mrs Baker. This week The Herald took to the streets of Wey Hill to ask shopkeepers what they think. Hobib Ullah from Shahanaz Indian Restaurant, who has been in business in the town since 1985 and owns one of the empty shops, said he was planning to rent it out. And he said that he had been planning to expand into an empty shop next door, formerly the Delta Radio studio. But he said the "rent was too high". "I would like to see Wey Hill more prosperous," said Mr Ullah. Colin Lucas from Gillett and Holden, an old- established domestic appliance retailer which has been trading in Haslemere for more than 30 years, said: "The empty shops are more to do with high rents and rates, which are not giving people the chance to establish businesses. "Maybe the shop owners should consider lowering the rents. "We've got quite a diversity of shops and there is plenty of scope for others, but the price needs to be right." The partners in Alan Baker Flooring, Alan Baker and John Roberts, agreed that Wey Hill was suffering "because the High Street was now looking so nice". And Mr Baker said that having shops with whitewashed windows was "outrageous". "They make the area look as if it going down the tubes; the landlords don't seem to be interested in the community." Mr Baker also claimed that Tesco had reneged on its promise to allow free parking for Wey Hill shoppers. "Everybody needs to look at themselves and invest in their own properties to draw in the customers." But he claimed: "Lots of people don't see the potential to invest to make money." Mr Baker also believed that tree or shrub planters outside shops would also help to break up the hill. "Everybody needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet and get past their own likes and dislikes, so we can make Wey Hill look more important. Image is incredibly important," he said. And he believed that the traffic in Wey Hill was "a bonus", enabling people to see the shops and their window displays as they drove past. Jim Edwards from Basix, another well-established business, said that the biggest problem was parking and "greedy" landlords. But he put much of the blame for Wey Hill's woes on Tesco. "It has got to honour its promise about free parking for Wey Hill customers. It promised to help encourage customers to Wey Hill and it hasn't. And the traffic lights still need to be sorted out." Neville Park of Haslemere Flowers, a retailer in Wey Hill for more than 25 years, agreed that parking was a problem. And he was critical of the so-called improvements to Wey Hill. "They didn't achieve anything, it doesn't look any different and we need to make it a better looking place to shop. "It's down to every trader to make their shops look nice and is a team effort. "Empty shops don 't help but it they are going to be empty they must be made to look presentable." A relatively new business to Wey Hill in the past few years is The Art Shop. Run by Rob Keir believed that the shopping area should be promoted for its specialist shops. "Lots of people coming here have spent two to three days driving past until they can get a parking space on the hill," said Mr Keir who believes that car parking was not a problem with three car parks just 200 yards away. "It would be nice if the shops were full but I don't know how well they are being marketed," he said.