Independent retailers make life interesting
Bring your passport if you turn up to Shrewsbury on July 4 – it’s declared independence. So far, so Passport to Pimlico.
But it’s retail, rather than political independence, the Salopians’ll be celebrating. The town claims more independent shops than anywhere else in the country.
It’s too easy to dismiss the independents, when the big chains have turnovers in the billions – and recently, redundancy lists in the thousands.
Compared to this, it’s tempting to ignore the small shops – all very well in their own way, and in a place like Shrewsbury, but a bit too chi-chi, a bit too hand-woven. But the impact of small independent traders on a shopping street goes beyond the economic.
Research predicts as many as 35,000 shops could close before the end of the recession – with many of those likely to be the small traders that give an area its character.
The likes of Woolworths get all the attention, as might be expected given the number of people who lost their jobs. The loss of a small store might only mean one or two people looking for new employment. But in terms of the environment and character of our urban surroundings, the loss of the small shop can be a lot more damaging. The disappearance of a Woolworths on the high street means one less identikit plate-glass space filler. The disappearance of a local trader means the loss of another piece of local uniqueness – the little differences that make life interesting.
Small businesses need to band together to ensure their survival – a process that has already started with the establishment of business improvement districts across the West Midlands and the wider UK.
For the sake of the places we live in, whether it’s Shrewsbury or Smethwick, the role of independents needs to be recognised – and protected.
