LOCAL NEWS

December - January 2016/17 3

SMALL TRADERS FORGOTTEN ON SMALL start-up businesses in Stalybridge town centre, encouraging them to grow and
prosper and to work collectively towards a much more enterprising and joined
BUSINESS SATURDAY Author: Dave Tate up business community that meets the needs of the local communities as well
Saturday 3rd December was Small Business Saturday. The Small Business as Consumers. Well for a start you need to be involving all the businesses in
Saturday UK website says it is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which events and publicising them prior to the event, without this you dont have a
highlights small business success and encourages consumers to shop local joined up business community. Imagine the additional publicity that could
and support small businesses in their have been generated if all businesses had been involved and had been tweeting,
communities. The day itself takes place putting it on Facebook etc. Instead it simply looks like a photo opportunity for
on the first Saturday in December each local politicians. I dont even know who makes up the Town Team and what
year, but the campaign aims to have a they do. So my challenge to them is to be a team for the whole town not a select
lasting impact on small businesses. few. There could have been a lot more done with Saturdays event if everyone
Many local authorities use special knew about it in advance.
measures to promote local small With Stalybridge, it seems a shame that the small businesses that hold the
businesses at what is an important time town together are neither visited nor contacted. Stalwarts such as Henry and
for high street retailers, even more so as Margaret at the pet shop, Taylors, Say Cheese, The Peoples Gallery, Stalybridge
the digital world grows ever stronger and Homecare or The Tripe Shop dont get a mention. Without diehards such as
online trading takes the lead. In many these would Stalybridge even have a town centre? The general consensus with
areas it has yielded great rewards for the traders Ive spoken to across our area is that there needs to be a lot more
those involved. In 2015 623 million was (Small Business Saturday: A Bus Missed?) than token visits and photo opportunities to take our towns forward again.
spent by customers at small businesses on Small Business Saturday, a massive
24% increase compared to 2014. Results are expected to be as high when the
figures are compiled for this year.
I spoke to David Anderson, Town Clerk at Bishop Auckland Town Council.
He described to me how, along with their local Town Team, they coordinated
special offers and promotions between all the local, independent retailers.
Backed up by Durham County Councils policy of free parking in all council
run car parks on the day it meant a productive profitable day for the business
holders and a coming together of the community. Now Bishop Auckland may
be many miles away but it has many similarities with towns such as Stalybridge
and Hyde. A once thriving market town that suffered very much in the 90s
and recovery has been slow. Since the Town Council was established in 2007,
after electorate petition and a governance review and members were elected
by the local people, there has been a strong alliance built with all parts of the
community. Alongside private investment and the restoration of its heritage
and significant buildings, such as Auckland Castle and the return of a 50 stall
outdoor market, they are building a brighter future.
With all this in mind I contacted local traders in Hyde and Stalybridge to find
out what had been going on in our area to mark Small Business Saturday.
Steve at MG Domestics on Market Street, Hyde, told me The only reason I
knew it was Small Business Saturday was because I saw an American Express
Advert on the TV. We had no contact from the council or any authorities to say
anything was going on. I wish I could say I was surprised.
Staff at Oaklands Furniture shop, also in Hyde said We didnt know anything
about Small Business Saturday. We saw the mayor walk past the shop window,
thats the only thing we noticed any different. In all, out of 12 businesses I
contacted in Hyde I didnt find one that knew anything about Small Business
Saturday being supported by any authority.
When you move to Stalybridge you find that a select number of shops were
visited by Tameside Mayor, Cllr. Philip Fitzpatrick and local MP Jonathan
Reynolds. Photographs of which were displayed on the Stalybridge Town
Team Facebook page. Again though, apart from those traders who were visited
for the photo opportunity, not many of the other traders were aware of the
visit or that the day was any kind of event. David McGovern of Stalybridge
Homecare stated I heard nothing about this before it happened. Why werent
all shops told about it? Why was there no publicity?
He continued I am pleased for the businesses that did get some welcome
publicity but no communication went out to all businesses to get involved.
The following quote is taken from the Stalybridge Town Team website The
Town Team have introduced a new initiative designed to help existing and new