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Village traders
fight plans for a supermarket urging shoppers to Keep Trade Local
THE Federation of Small
Businesses‘ Sefton and Ormskirk Branch is supporting small firms in
Birkdale as they fight to stop Sainsbury‘s opening in the village.
In the lead up to Small Business Saturday, 7 December 2013, a
petition is being run by traders to persuade customers to keep
shopping on their local high street.
Birkdale has remained a vibrant centre and attractive to shoppers
throughout the recent tough economic times, but the planned opening
of a new Sainsbury‘s store concerns many local residents.
FSB members claim supermarkets cause small firms to lose business as
cheaper prices and convenience can pull consumers away from the
local high street. This can affect many traders such as butchers,
grocers and bakers.
One opportunity to remind local people of what Birkdale has to
offer, and what they stand to lose should Sainsbury‘s be successful,
is Small Business Saturday, 7 December 2013. The FSB will be
campaigning in the town on the day to raise awareness of the need to
use the local firms at the heart of their community, and to keep
trade local when Christmas shopping.
John Allan, FSB National Chairman and Chairman of Sefton and
Ormskirk branch said:- "Birkdale has some great thriving local
businesses, who are at risk of having trade taken away by
Sainsbury‘s. The petition against Sainsbury‘s and the action planned
for Small Business Saturday aims to drive shoppers away from the
supermarkets and make them look at what is on offer in the high
street. It is vital small firms and not large firms like Sainsbury‘s
reap the benefits of increased consumers in the lead up to
Christmas."
Joanne Matthews of Birkdale Cheese Centre said:- "This
proposal paves the way for the demise of speciality shops, as
peoples shopping habits change. We fear that the unique nature of
Birkdale would be lost and we need a chance to raise our
objections." |
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Letter to the
Editor:- "Housing is in crisis - it's time for our side of the
story"
"AS a resident of Sefton,
I‘m concerned about the lack of serious local debate on the homes we
need in our community when there‘s clearly a big problem. Many
of us are finding it really hard to save enough money to get on the
housing ladder, or are struggling with increasing rents while our
salaries are staying the same. If things don‘t change, young people
in Sefton won‘t be able to move out of home, or will have to move to
another part of the country. We all need to be prepared to
join in the local debate with our local Councillors to tackle this
problem, and think about how we can get the right homes in the right
places at prices that are affordable for everybody in Sefton.
But our community leaders can only act if more local people speak up
and tell them things must change. There‘s a local campaign the
community can join, called Yes to Homes, that will show people how
we can make them listen. You can join the debate at:-
yestohomes.co.uk."
Mr Anthony.
Letters to the Editor:- "Model
Railway Show Coverage"
"I attended the Model
Railway 40th Exhibition at Southport, over 28 September to 29
September 2013. This was a great 2 days and with an attendance of
1000 visitors. I was very surprised by the fact that the 2 local
papers did not so much as mention that the event took place. I
congratulate you and your team for covering the event and publishing
Patrick's
photos. One of the high lights
of the show was when exhibitors let some of the children help run
the layouts with Mum or Dad in attendance. This is a brilliant hobby
as it teaches carpentry, electrics, mechanics, engineering, model
making and much more. Also young and old can enjoy working and
playing together. The exhibits this year were fantastic, with many
many hours of model making going in to achieve such high standards
of the craft. I look forward as I'm sure many others do to next
years exhibition in November." Yours Mrs Finch. |
