12 December 2011
“Shop in St Helens this Christmas”
That’s the message from St Helens Green Party to local people still to do their Christmas shopping.
The Green Party recognises that the public and private sector must get to grip with some enormous challenges, but urges townsfolk to put reservations to one side and support the local economy when it needs it most.
St Helens Green Party spokesman Dave Parr says:
“Nobody is pretending that St Helens is the Trafford Centre or Liverpool One, but people’s livelihoods are on the line and we can all make a difference.
“Whether it’s your Christmas food shop, major presents or last minute gifts, make it St Helens town centre.”
St Helens Green Party is urging the council to re-think its approach in the New Year and radically overhaul the tried, tested and failed policies of the past.
Dave Parr continues:
“The days when we paid our utility bills at the showroom, the ‘phone bill at the Post Office and cashed cheques at the bank are long gone. Increased competition, internet shopping and consumer demand for out-of-town convenience and chain stores have seen to that.
“We have to find new ways to put the heart back into the high street. Yes, we have to try to give people what they want – a wide range of shops, free car parking – but only if it’s sustainable. Attracting a department store that may go under in two year’s time isn’t progress.
“We have to reclaim St Helens for St Helens. That means stop worrying about other towns and other cities and think about what we need here and now: a USP for St Helens.
“If we can find ways to encouraged genuinely local businesses and growth, a new kind of town centre can evolve, creating new jobs along the way.
“Two thirds of the country’s half a million retail outlets are independent. Perhaps this is the way back for St Helens, encouraging a vibrant town centre with something radically different from the same old chains? A place with a truly diverse mix of shops, bars and cafes – the very opposite of what we have now. It has to be worth a try. After all, what’s the alternative?”
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