"Act Now to Save our Small Shops"

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 10th Feb 2005

New figures just released by the Liberal Democrats reveal that since 1997 over 20,000 specialist shops including bakeries, butchers and corner shops have closed, at an estimated rate of around 50 per week according to research by the New Economics Foundation. Liberal Democrats are calling for action and yesterday Brian Cotter MP, Liberal Democrat Small Business Spokesperson, introduced a Bill in the House of Commons to protect the future of small local shops.

The move is backed by Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Leeds North West, Cllr Greg Mulholland who plans to take the issue up at Council level. "This is a big issue locally. You just have to walk around Headingley or Otley to see how many small and specialist shops we have lost".

He adds, "Small shops are at the heart of our local communities, providing vital services to local residents and a wide choice of goods and products. Unless the Government takes a stand on this, the choice will soon be supermarkets or nothing".

The Liberal Democrats are calling for tax breaks for small shops and new planning rules to prevent supermarkets driving independent retailers out of business. Mr Cotter's Small Shops (Protection) Bill would force local councils to include small shops in their strategies and give local people the final say on proposals to build large supermarkets. The numbers of traders qualifying for rate relief would be increased and retailers who kept more cash circulating in the local area would be favoured by town halls.

Mr Cotter told MPs: "Small shops provide a lifeline for those in need such as the elderly the young and those without transport, valuable opportunities for human contact...a market for local produce and suppliers and...important job opportunities within local communities".

Greg Mulholland emphasised the importance of this issue after the raft of Post Office closures across Leeds North West "With post offices and bank branches shutting their doors as well, communities are losing vital resources and action must be taken to stem this tide".