writes Claira Cinnamond.
Supermarket chains tend to dominate trade in communities when they set up shop, and in Newcastle, Ballynahinch and Downpatrick, and other provincial towns around Down, there is a growing Angst about the further development of large supermarket shopping areas further putting local, small business people under more pressure.
To get an idea of how the people of Down feel about this issue, Down News took to the streets and asked several shoppers and visitors in Newcastle’s Main Street how important they felt local businesses were to small towns and how far we should go to support them.
One Newcastle Resident was adamant that in Newcastle it was difficult to support local business as she said, “We do not have the right kind of shops and there is no indoor shopping centre. There is also very little parking in the town and when people are busy working the convenience of big supermarkets wins out.”
However, Mr and Mrs Willis (Lisburn) said, “We actually come to Newcastle to shop about twice a week. In Lisburn with the shopping mall there are no good shops and you really miss the personal touch of independent local traders.”
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Diane Murdoch (Clough) said, “My family would tend to do a big family food shop once a week in one of the bigger supermarkets but we would shop for basics during the week in the local shop as we know the owners. As far as clothes go many local shop lack the style and choice of larger chain stores and I would usually go to Belfast to shop for these.”
One Lurgan resident added, “I try to support local shops and businesses as much as possible because everyone wants to see their own down doing well and see the older businesses surviving. Without them the town would lose a lot of its character.”
Wilma McMillan (Saintfield) said, “For us it is actually quite convenient to shop locally and we would try to support Saintfield which is a thriving town with many family businesses still doing well. However, for a family food shop the supermarket is the best in terms of price and choice.”
With Newry being a commercial hub one resident said, “In an ideal world you would shop locally and it is great to support local businesses but with the recession and the offers available now in supermarkets it is just not always possible for families to stick to this principle.”
Mr and Mrs Attwell (Portadown) added, “Many big shopping centres outside the town are attracting trade away from small businesses in the town centre and small traders just can’t compete and we can see a huge change in the way people shop and in the town itself.
“The Council spent money on regeneration of the town, replacing and upgrading pavements etc. but this has actually damaged local trade and the inconvenience of parking and road works drove people to the bigger shops and they have continued to shop there. Many of the local businesses are run by skilled and knowledgeable people, and it would be a such a shame to lose this to big business.”
Mildred Proctor and Paul Clarke (Portadown) said, “In Portadown there are still enough local businesses to be able to shop there and continue to support the town. The customer service and understanding a shopper gets from a local business run by local people is something that can’t be recreated by big business and it is important that we keep this.”
John Grant (Ballykinlar) echoed, “It is very important to support local business and I always try to. To preserve local business also preserves the community and this is key.”
There are countless arguments for an against the devlopment of further large supermarkets across the district, but if a rual way of life is being challenged, how will it all end? To say a new large supermarket creates 50 jobs may be a reality, but this has to be measured against the perhaps 40 it has displaced. It is a complex issue, but one we need to address and it is one that certainly is not going to go away.]]>
