Save your High Street

Historian Adam Hart-Davis calls on the public to keep trade local.

The face of our high street is changing as every year 2000 small shops close. Local butchers, bakeries and family run stores are closing and being replaced by out of town supermarkets or ‘local' express stores. As a result it is estimated that by 2015 there will be no independent high street shops, equating to the loss of 50,000 small shops.

As a result “What the Romans Did for Us” presenter and historian Adam Hart-Davis is today joining a campaign with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to ‘Keep Trade Local' in a bid to save the local high street from extinction.

The domination of the supermarkets, combined with poor planning decisions has a knock-on effect to local communities and the most vulnerable groups - the elderly, the less affluent and others without transport are likely to be hardest-hit. Women, who make up the majority of small shop workers, will also suffer as their jobs disappear.

The FSB is campaigning for; lower business rates for small independent retailers (affordable retailing) / parking charges decided at local level / end ‘below cost selling' / establish an Office of Retail Planning.  To sign your name to their petition click here http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/keeptradelocal/

To find out more and see how you can help click here to watch Adam Hart-Davis…

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