Support our traders

From the archive, first published Thursday 27th Oct 2005.

Devizes will continue to deteriorate as a retail centre unless a new development in the central car park goes ahead ­ what rubbish.

But it will if our council continues to push up taxes, remove free parking spaces and offer no incentive or support to those wishing to set up new businesses.

As for the town ranking 377th as a retail centre because it doesn't have the same boring and mundane chain stores as everywhere else, who cares? Do we want to be graded on the floor space of `multiple retail outlets' or the quantity of `major chains'?

We have some fantastic and individual shops in Devizes employing people who know their products and who really care about customers. Let's encourage more of them. Our Thursday market is small but isn't it lovely to buy local, fresh produce often from the producer at very reasonable prices? Just last week a stall holder helped me to my car with some heavy shopping ­ you don't get that at Cribbs Causeway. We are a town, not a city, let's have variety, be small but perfectly formed.

Rather than paying consultants to destroy our town how about we spend the money on supporting our existing retailers and helping local people set up new businesses?

H Fowler

Rowde

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