Living Local
in Old Trafford
Old Trafford has a bustling shopping area, where you can buy anything from
fresh meat to the very latest Jerk sauce, insulator tape to mops. Some of the
shops have been there for decades; many of the owners are familiar faces to the
local community. The area acts as a focus for the community, people regularly
popping in and out of shops and stopping to chat to friends and neighbours.
However this resource is under threat. It has
happened in areas all over the country, and it has now started to happen in Old
Trafford.
 Claire Wheeler, our Sustainability Consultant for Old Trafford is conducting
a survey to find out record exactly what shops exist at present, what they sell
and their worries as regards the changing structure of the way we shop:
“The street is like a community centre, but it is
losing that. If somebody is ill or dies, if something happens people know about
it as they see each other in the shops.” [Local shop Keeper, Old
Trafford]
The problem is that many of the independent shops in places like Old Trafford
are finding it hard to compete with the number of supermarkets that have opened
up near by. Many people who used to do all their shopping locally are now
travelling, more often than not by car, to the nearest supermarket.
Supermarkets have huge purchasing advantages and seem at the moment to be
actively encouraged by the government. In the five years to 2002, 50 specialised
stores like butchers, bakers, fishmongers and newsagents closed every week. In
May 2005 the IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution), in its authoritative
Convenience Retailing Report revealed the loss of 2,157 unaffiliated independent
convenience retailers, compared to only 324 the year before.
“If people do not use us – we won’t be here
anymore.” [Local shopkeeper, Old Trafford]
It seems the message is clear, if people don’t want to see the communities
they live in lose their shopping areas then people have to support their local
shops.
The danger of the rise of large chain retailers is that it becomes a one way
street. Once small independent stores go to the wall, there are often
insurmountable barriers to get back into the high street.
Aside from the issues of community degradation, there are also the related
issues of increased traffic and pollution associated with more people using
supermarkets, as well as the concerns surrounding supermarket bad practice.
"Tesco now controls 30% of the grocery market in the UK. In 2005, the
supermarket chain announced over £2 billion in profits. Growing evidence
indicates that Tesco's success is partly based on trading practices that are
having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers, overseas workers, local
shops and the environment."
"In June 2005, the New Economics Foundation in its Clone Town Britain report,
revealed the impact that the dominance of big chain retail is having on our high
streets. This dominance of chain retailers, like Tesco, has a serious impact on
communities. Chain retailers deprive the local economy of money, destroy the
social glue provided by real local shops that holds communities together, and
they steal the identity of our towns and cities. The argument that big retail is
good because it provides consumers with choice is ironic, because in the end it
leaves us with no choice at all."
So What Can You Do?
- Support your local shops and services by using them in as many of your
shopping trips as possible.
- Be open minded about prices, it is a common misconception that supermarket
food is cheaper when you may be paying more for packaging and appearance than
good food.
- Sign our on-line pledge to
shop local whenever you can!
By shopping locally we can contribute to and affect nearly every aspect of
the environment, social justice, health, community, congestion and more. The
extra "bang per buck" of shopping locally, as shown by the New Economics
Foundation, strengthens and accelerates urban and rural regeneration; we provide
opportunities for employment near our homes and can improve our health and our
environment too.
So make your vote with where and how you shop!
More Information
For more information on the
Old Trafford Local
Living: Local Food Action Group or if you would like Claire to
come and talk to your group about Local
Living: Local Food or ‘Food Miles’ , contact Claire on 0845 108 6241 or
[email protected]
References
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