THE retail and service sectors in Kendal are booming with a raft of developments on the horizon and a predicted increase in demand for shopping, according to a town hall expert.

Major retail developments, the restoration of the northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal between Kendal and Tewitfield, and a proposed business park and housing development at North Sandylands, all indicate high levels of confidence in the town.

South Lakeland District Council's economy and development manager Richard Greenwood outlined what he described as "a time of major change" for Kendal.

He told a meeting of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry that the retail scene also remained buoyant as well as people' s spending ability and the growth of households.

However, speaking afterwards, Mr Greenwood said that like the rest of the country, manufacturing in Kendal was struggling.

Bosses at K Shoes have announced 76 redundancies, administrators had been brought in at Georgian Goodacre carpet manufacturers, and other firms were suffering.

Despite this, the service and retail sectors remained buoyant.

Research carried out by the council suggested that over the next five years there would be a need for an additional 10 to 15,000 square feet of new food shopping floor space, and 80 or 90,000 square feet of non-food retailing space.

Developments being proposed to help meet that demand included a new Booths supermarket on the Westmorland Gazette site in Stricklandgate and the demolition and rebuilding of K Village.

Also in the offing was a move for Kendal Rugby Club, including the redevelopment of the club's existing Mint Bridge home.

Mr Greenwood said the council hoped for a "major leisure and recreation element" to that redevelopment.

The canal restoration project, and plans by the auction mart to move out of town and expand were other examples of the town's vibrancy.

Mr Greenwood said that existing employment sites like Murley Moss were full.

Operations like Axa and K Shoes had shut or downsized, but this had not done much to help the supply of industrial land.

"We have got a lot of pent-up demand from industries, from local firms wanting to expand and relocate in and around the town and we have not got the sites to cater for them," he told the Kendal and South Lakeland branch of the business organisation.

A proposed business park at North Sandylands, including housing, should help meet some of that need, if it is given the go-ahead by a government inspector who is considering changes to the Local Plan.

"It really is a time of major change in Kendal," Mr Greenwood said.

"There's a lot of confidence both in terms of retailing, the housing market, and in terms of the business side as well.

"Whether the local authority is able to cope with that of amount of pressure, and whether the town can cater for that level of demand within planning policies we have at the moment is to be seen."

Speaking afterwards Mr Greenwood said the firms wanting to expand were mostly from the service and transport sectors.

He said Kendal was proving attractive as a market town, with a relatively-rich catchment area, and a changing population including older people with a higher disposable income.