Do more to support existing businesses

On my only day off from running Lamats Hardware shop in Leamington Spa on Sunday, I just happened to catch sight of the Courier article on how successful the Leamington district has become in company start-ups.

I was trying to mentally calculate how many shops and businesses have closed in the town centre, to reopen as charity shops, loan shops or food shops. Even taking this into account the Parade looks empty of retail premises, the only success locally seems to be large supermarkets that are being able to use their buying power to damage brands and force other small businesses to close, as is now going to happen on the Woodloes Estate, with the Co-op. How short sighted was that decision?

Coming back to the original point, where on earth are these new businesses that are so heartilly congratulated by the Conservative Member of Parliament.

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If we look closely at the numbers then of the 160 businesses created in three months, only 10-15 per cent will still be around in three years. which is approx 20. Would it not be as good to help save 20 businesses that are currently trading, that will have closed over the same period.

Reduce shop rates, enforce covenant restrictions on supermarkets, reduce parking charges, enable cheaper loans for new and existing small enterprises. Oops, I may have just created 20 new business successes in this paragraph. However a bit like the Conservative comment in the article, there is no real proof of that.

It is in all of our interests to create shop and business diversity, otherwise the tax revenue will be lost and more and more state benefits will have to be paid. - Paul A Haslam, Lamats Hardware Shop, Leamington

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