Keep Trade Local

We are trying to get the Observer to run a campaign to save our local shops (not in relation to Asda but to raise awareness generally). Please see http://www.fsb.org.uk for details and why our shops are disappearing. If you feel strongly about the issue, please write to Peter Lindsey at Hastings Observer.

Here is a copy of the email I have written to him:

Dear Mr. Lindsey,

Whilst researching the impact of supermarkets on the local economy, I came across the All-Party Parliamentary Shop Group’s report with the title “High Street Britain 2015”, which concludes that the trend towards convenience stores placed in town centres by companies such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s is making it virtually impossible for smaller, independent shops to survive. It further concludes that, if this trend is allowed to continue, local shops will have all but disappeared from Britain’s high streets by 2015.

Not only would this leave us with a so called clone town, in itself a horrifying prospect for us who are so proud of our town’s character, but it also has some worrying effects on the local economy.

The small retail sector is a key driver of entrepreneurship, employment, skills, innovation and business networks. If we neglect small businesses and they cannot prosper then this will not only affect them but also their suppliers, producers and other businesses.

On the basis of the “High Street Britain” report, the Federation of Small Businesses have recently launched their campaign “Keep Trade Local” in a bid to save our high street shops.

The effects described in the report can be seen in Hastings. When I first moved to Silverhill 15 years ago, there was a thriving high street with a good variety of shops, many of which have closed down and been replaced by fast food outlets and office space or are standing empty. Hastings town centre has seen some revival since Priory Meadow shopping centre opened but what we have there are largely national chain stores. Very few independent local shops manage to survive. Even Gamley’s had to close down earlier this year as supermarkets are selling cheaper toys. But are cheaper goods all positive for the consumers? I don’t believe so. Like many others I would like to be able to buy local goods and produce. I would like to have a choice and I would, on occasion, appreciate good knowledgeable advice on the products I’m about to buy. I would like to have an easy conscience when buying a healthy apple for my child and know that it wasn’t flown in around the globe from New Zealand and when buying summer clothes, I’d like to know that there wasn’t another child in Bangladesh slaving in a sweat shop for less than is needed to survive. Above all, I would like to think that my money spent in Hastings is helping to boost the local economy, not making it poorer.

This is a very important strand of the campaign as one of the great things about living in Silverhill is the fact that it has independent retailers and it was certainly one of the reasons I chose to move into the neighbourhood. These local businesses are definitely under threat. The deadline for commenting on the development proposal is nearly upon us, so maybe the next stage should be the contacting our local media some more and writing to the 'great and good' that represent us. I was planning to contact Michael Foster and to visit him in his office. If anyone else wants to join me I'll ask for an appointment for one his Friday surgery sessions.

Please write to Peter Lindsey at the Observer about your fears of losing local, independent shops - not just in Silverhill but it's a national trend. It would be really good if he could be persuaded to pick up the campaign to save local businesses.

Unfortunately, I can't join you visiting Michael Foster until Friday 11th possibly. These next two Fridays are out I'm afraid but if you can organise something for then, I'll be very happy to come along.

Hi Gaby, I'll definitely put together a letter for the Observer for next week. I've been in contact with Michael Foster's secretary Rosemary and she has asked to write in first of all and to request a meeting with him. Apparently he's very busy at the moment but will find time to meet with us; it's unlikely to be in the next few weeks but he has had correspondence already on ASDA. When I get a reply from him I'll let you know. Otherwise, do you think we will get an official response to our written objections to the council and will they let us know when they are going to meet on the matter. I do hope there is more than one meeting as it is a pretty important and big issue for the neighbourhood. I don't know how these things work.

Hi, I sent a letter to the observer about support for local businesses on Wednesday 25/06/08, also the Lib Dems were in Alexander Park today 29/06/08 (Veterans day) hosting a FSB petition and also a 'save local Post Offices' petition.

It's easier to get an audience with the pope...

I've just finished and emailed my letter to the Observer. It really hard as there was so much I wanted to add to it. Here goes:

In the last week a government study looking into the amount of food wasted by British households every year revealed a number of alarming statistics. We are according to the report chucking out 41.1 million tonnes of edible food for landfill, amounting to £10 billion pounds overall - roughly about £8 a week per household. So why is so much good food wasted by UK households? There is probably more than one reason, but could there be a link between the amount of food now bought in supermarkets, with their infamous ‘bogofs’ (the ‘buy one get one free’offers) persuading shoppers to buy more than they can consume by the given sell-by date. Coinciding at the same time in a decline in food available or bought in food stores in local communities, with small shops closing as the ‘big five’ moving into the neighbourhood.

A report by Friends of the Earth published in 2005 looking at the impact of supermarkets, stated that ‘35-40 per cent of all household waste’ (food and packaging combined), ‘which ends up landfill begins life as a purchase from one of the big five supermarkets’. This of course, doesn’t even take into account how much supermarkets waste directly each year from unsold food.

Not only is food waste on this scale immensely wasteful, but it also contributes significantly to our carbon footprint; as food waste creates one of the most environmentally damaging greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change. But the issue of food waste is just the tip of the melting iceberg in terms of the impact of supermarkets on the environment. Friends of the Earth have estimated, based on studies, that the UK supermarket food chain is probably responsible for one fifth of total UK greenhouse gases (Checking Out the Environment, FOE 2005).

At a time when households need to address this pressing problem, Wal-Mart ASDA is proposing to set up shop in neighbourhood of Silverhill – a community that already is very well served by local shops – a baker, butcher, pharmacy, a combined pet shop and greengrocers, plus a Co-op food store to name but some of the businesses that we stand to lose if the American giant is allowed to have its way.

There has probably never been a more important time to support and promote the small local shop and say a very loud NO THANKS, to giants like Wal-Mart Asda. Smaller shops are more environmentally friendly in a number of ways. For instance, local and UK products are more available, local fruit being just one example, and secondly they allow for smaller amounts to be bought, usually with far less packaging.

Moreover, small shops like those in Silverhill, contribute to the character of an area and offer a sense of community; providing social contact for locals that use the businesses on a regular basis, all adding to, and promoting much needed social cohesion within a neighbourhood. We also stand to lose the only small sub-post office in the area and its much needed services, as shoppers lured away by Asda will lessen their use of local shops, including the post office.

Add to the shopping list the inevitable increase in traffic congestion, noise and air pollution, Asda’s arrival all adds to a price that we should, for the sake our the community, say we don’t want to pay.

Great letter, it reads very well! Let's hope it gets published and that Mr. Lindsey will take note.

Here's a copy of mine, which has got different arguments, so I think that we're doing well:

I am again writing to ask for our local paper to lead the campaign “Keep Trade Local”.

The proliferation of supermarkets in our town means that more and more independent shops are struggling to survive.

The report “High Street Britain 2015”, produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Shop Group concludes that the trend towards convenience stores placed in town centres by ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, etc. is making it virtually impossible for smaller, independent shops to survive. It further concludes that, if this trend continues, local shops will have disappeared altogether from Britain’s high streets by 2015. The Federation of Small Businesses certainly are worried by these conclusions and have recently launched their campaign “Keep Trade Local” in a bid to save the high street shops.

The Telegraph reported on 28th December 2007 about the decline of traditional shops, in particular butchers and fishmongers, in British High Streets. The paper reported that “The dramatic decline of the traditional British fishmonger and butcher has been laid bare, with official figures showing that nearly 3,000 have gone out of business or quit the industry in the past seven years. The closures highlight the "slow death" of the British high street, which has been caused by the growing power of supermarkets and the increasing costs of running an independent business. While falling numbers of fishmongers and butchers have been apparent for some time, it has been difficult to calculate how many have closed down. However, HM Revenue & Customs, which has a record of every VAT-registered business in the country, has released data to The Daily Telegraph showing the full picture for the first time. In April 2000 there were 9,081 butchers in Britain. Over the next seven years that number fell to 7,186 - a decline equivalent to almost 23 butchers closing every month. The figures for fishmongers show an even bigger decline. In 2000 there were 2,408, a number which has now fallen by 31 per cent to 1,657. And the figures do not include shops that are exempt from registering for VAT.

The “Parking Economic Impact Study”, commissioned by HBC in late 2007 and carried out by Colin Buchanan & Partners Ltd, mentions the fact that an Asda supermarket is planned for Silverhill and expresses the fear that this “could potentially have a significant adverse impact on retail within the town centre”. And this after a great deal of money and effort has been invested to regenerate local business in Central St. Leonards.

In effect, therefore, are we turning a proud nation of shopkeepers into a nation of shelf stackers?

Are there any advantages to letting supermarkets and national chains turn our town into a clone?

The argument that they provide much needed employment is weak - The British Retail Forum has found that on average 276 jobs are lost for every large supermarket opening in the UK. The jobs which are lost are likely to be higher paid, unionised, safe and full-time in contrast to those offered by supermarkets who tend to be minimum wage employers.

Smaller independent local shops are more likely to buy their produce/products and services from small, local suppliers whose livelihoods are also threatened as local shops are put out of business.

Supermarkets and national chains will not ask a local plumber or electrician or computer engineer for support. Supermarkets use market power to drive down supply costs, forcing farmers to sell produce at unsustainably low prices. In their quest for ever lower prices, supermarkets source much food from abroad, worsening the situation for UK farmers, not to mention the ecological impact.

The argument that they boost the local economy is weaker still - Only profits made by local businesses actually stay in the local economy. For every pound spent in a local shop, at least 50p is reinvested locally. For every pound spent in a national chain, or worse still, a multinational, no more than 5p stays in the local economy.

Then there is the argument of choice - Visit the fruit and vege aisles in any of our local supermarkets and you will see a vast offer of apples. Apples are not currently in season and all of the apples on sale are from abroad, most are from South Africa, Chile, China or even New Zealand. Fruit that are in season and should be abundant and cheap, such as strawberries, on the other hand, are on a comparatively small display and presented as some kind of delicatessen in small, extravagant packaging and at inflated prices. The price of cherries is beyond belief!

There is the argument of convenience – I would dispute even that. In order to do a weekly shop at a supermarket most of us will use a car but some of us have to battle along on public transport. We then spend 2 hours negotiating aisles and dodging trolleys before standing in a queue waiting to pay. The whole exercise will take a good 2 hours or more for an average family shop. Personally, I’d rather spend 30 minutes four times a week and end up with fresher food and less waste as there is little fresh fruit and vege that will keep for a week. (Unfortunately, I no longer have the choice of popping out for some fresh fruit or vege as the local greengrocer closed down last year)

Lastly, the argument of price – Much has been made recently of the amount of food wasted by the average British family. We are told that we throw away a tenner’s worth a week because we are enticed to buy more than we need. Surely, we might as well pay a little more for locally produced, healthy food, that we will actually eat?

Small shops are vital for our communities as they offer not only good quality products but also a focal point for local residents. They offer safe and good quality employment. They give our town character. They support the local economy and their environmental impact is low. Above all, they give us a sense of community. It is difficult to feel any sense of belonging and pride in the face of boarded up shop fronts.

Well done. You've marshalled very strong arguments and supported them with highly relevant facts. Your last point is so true as well. Today I popped down to the shops for a couple of items - some really nice locally produced pear and apple juice, plus a couple of apples, and the parade had a really lively, vibrant atmosphere. It really brings home how luckily we are in this part of town, particularly with Alexandra Park on our doorstep. It's a pleasant and unpretentious place to live; there's just so much to lose if Asda move in.

I've had an email from the Observer - they wanted me to edit my letter down as they won't print anything longer than 300 words. It was a difficult task and meant I had to shave off some of the more pertinent points, but I did as they asked. I thought that I ought to mention that if anyone is thinking of writing to the letters page that it might save a bit of effort if it was 300 words or under. I've also written to Mr Foster to request a meeting with him.