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Fight to keep your town special
Keep
Louth Special says East Lindsey’s plans to sell
off Louth’s cattle market site for a giant new
supermarket risk destroying the town’s unique
collection of little shops.
The
group, set up by Louth residents, shoppers and
local businesses, says that ELDC’s
plan to invite offers for the retail development
of the five acre site was launched without any
democratic consultation, and amounts to playing
Russian roulette with one of the few unspoiled
market towns left in Lincolnshire.
“Right
across the country, big supermarkets are
exterminating local businesses, and in doing so
are taking the friendliness, the service and the
fun out of shopping,” said Richard James, one of
the group’s founders.
Louth
has six locally-owned butchers, three
fishmongers, two greengrocers, two bakers and a
number of specialist delicatessens, as well as a
thrice–weekly market and a farmers’ market.
Unlike some towns, local shops continue to
expand, with a new butcher, a deli and a bakery
all opened within the last two years.
Contrast
this with Market Rasen. The Tesco that opened
there in 2005 has hit local shops hard, cutting
takings by 20-50%. The market place has lost its
food stalls, and many retailers are wondering
how long they can carry on. Is this the fate
that awaits Louth?
“We all
use supermarkets to a certain extent,” said
Joanna Heselwood of Keep Louth Special. “But the
cattle market may end up with a store large
enough for shoppers to get everything under one
roof. What then would be left for the rest of
the town?”
“East
Lindsey is already mired in controversy over the
siting of a leisure centre in Wood Lane, and the
abandonment of responsibility for Hubbards
Hills,” said Keep Louth Special spokesman Nick
Louth. “It is high time that local residents
were listened to and a full debate begun before
any decisions are made.” The group is formally
launching a petition on Saturday, November 1 and
is aiming to get 5,000 signatures by Christmas.
“We are
entering a time of recession, when communities
need to pull together,” Nick Louth said. “By
spending locally, Louth shoppers can help local
businesses, farmers and suppliers who in turn
account for much of the town’s employment. This
in turn keeps up house prices and bolsters
prosperity all round. By contrast, spending
everything at a huge new supermarket would mean
money sucked from the local economy, never to
return.”
Whether
you live in or around Louth, or merely value the
unique shopping experience, you should write to
your councillor or MPs to make your voice heard,
and sign our petition.
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