Could the North Laine, a labyrinth of offbeat shops and quirky artists' studios in Brighton, soon become a victim of the city's success?

It has been the birthplace and cradle for many a business - even the odd business empire.

When Anita Roddick set up shop in Kensington Gardens in 1976, she drizzled perfume over the pavement in an attempt to entice customers.

She would have been laughed off many British High Streets but, in Brighton's North Laine it worked, putting her on the path to global fame and a multi-million pound fortune.

The quirky, offbeat chutzpah that made The Body Shop such a winner is what still draws tourists to the North Laine.

The fact businesses continue to make a living from selling an odd assortment of bonsai trees, hemp products or Japanese kitsch, is testament to the area's continuing diversity.

Yet community leaders say the arrival of chain shops is in danger of destroying North Laine's independent, maverick nature.

Barry Leigh, chairman of the North Laine Community Association, used his annual report to warn of the dangers of going down the same road that has destroyed many High Streets in Britain.

He believes rising rents are drawing London outlets into the area in the belief they will make a considerable profit. Yet with little real understanding of the area, many fail.

Meanwhile, long-standing tenants are moving out, unable to afford the increased rents.

This is not the first time the North Laine has faced a turning point.

In the early Seventies, the then Brighton Council commissioned a report on the town centre by respected town planner Sir Hugh Wilson.

In his initial report, Sir Hugh suggested pedestrianising much of the town and building a road on stilts from Preston Circus which would end in an enormous car park in Bond Street.

The scheme would have cut through the North Laine, necessitating a vast amount of demolition.

The council asked Sir Hugh to take his report forward but by the time it came back again in 1973 there had been a sea change in public attitudes.

This was the era when Selma Montford and the Brighton Society were coming to public prominence and winning support in their fight to save the unique architectural heritage of Brighton station.

Two years after commissioning the Wilson report, the council threw it out.

In 1976, the North Laine's physical preservation was guaranteed when the area was declared a conservation area.

Yet the area was very different then. In some ways it was just another High Street. Twenty years ago Gardner Street was a rather dowdy street with the usual roll call of butchers and greengrocers.

But, perhaps in a signpost towards the future, there were specialist shops too. One sold just eggs, another offered nothing but cork.

As the Nineties arrived, the North Laine became lively - because it was cheap. Local artists and businesses could start with little capital and just a wing and a prayer.

The area's little cottages, originally for railway workers, were perfectly placed to become small artists' studios and starter businesses.

It is that small, Bohemian quality locals are now trying to preserve. The community association has tried to resist further change but feels the area is starting to be destroyed because of a lack of political will.

Mr Leigh said: "We are starting to see wholesale change in some streets such as Kensington Gardens where there is the impression that the majority of shops have become restaurants.

"Now with housing only suitable for the rich and shops only available to those with high margins and deep pockets, we wonder why that magic and specialness can no longer be fostered."

Yet others remain optimistic. The dire predictions, the gloom - they have seen it all before.

Peter Stocker, of the Pottery Workshop in Trafalgar Street, has seen his rent rise by 75 per cent in one go but, after 22 years in business, he is not panicking.

The secretary of the North Laine Traders' Association said: "I hadn't had a rent review in the last five years so I can't complain because it is probably about right now.

"It is worrying when a lot of rents are getting to the level where some businesses can't survive.

"But the North Laine has got to change. That is why it is like it is now, because it is always evolving. We can't leave it in the past and think it's never going to change because that would destroy it.

"I don't think it would have survived in another town but here you have the students and the tourists so you have a good chance."

With huge premiums required to get started, first-timers are increasingly looking elsewhere, such as in up-and-coming areas like Kemp Town village.

Mr Stocker said: "Whereas I started up with £600 in my pocket and paid a premium of £2,000 for the shop, you are now looking at paying £8,000 to £10,000 to get started and £20,000 to £30,000 for a premium. I know someone had to pay a £40,000 premium in Gardner Street."

The same warning bells have been sounded for the last ten years but he believes the area will survive.

"The shops are just small enough so the big chains aren't that interested and because it's a conservation area they can't knock them into one.

"The area is being rejuvenated round the edges at last. The station site has been derelict for years. You have to hope people will be sensible but I don't think North Laine will lose its magic."

Sharon Thomas, who opened The Off Beat Coffee Bar in Sydney Street two years ago, does not think she could afford to start up in the North Laine area now.

She said: "I had to take an increase in rent to come here but you either accept that or you don't. But just in the last year the talk of rents going up has been alarming.

"Even two years down the line I don't think I would be able to get in now. There are a lot of parallels with the property market where first-time buyers can't get on to the ladder.

"There are a few chains appearing in Bond Street now and it's a worry they will encroach even more."

For now, the area continues to thrive.

ShakeAway, a milkshake bar in Bond Street, will soon celebrate its first year in the North Laine selling unique concoctions such as its jam doughnut and syrup sponge shakes.

Becky Findlay said: "We are a quirky business and we thought this was the right place for us."

Monday April 21 2003