Care backs bid to halt closure of small shops (Derby City Liberal Democrats)

Derby City Liberal Democrats <info@derbycitylibdems.org.uk>

Care backs bid to halt closure of small shops

March 9, 2005 12:00 AM

Councillor Lucy Care, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Derby South, is backing a Bill to stop the closure of small shops. She is also surveying local small shop keepers to help assess the health of small shops in Derby.

Since 1997 around 20,000 small shops have closed in Britain. In a bid to halt this wholesale closure of small shops, Lib Dem MP, Brian Cotter, is introducing a Small Shops Protection Bill in Parliament. The Bill seeks to help stop small shops being forced to close. Councillor Lucy Care said:

"Small shops form an important part of the local community. They provide valuable services to many people, and are often a lifeline for people without their own transport including elderly people and those with young families.

"There are many examples of small shops closing in Derby. Some are standing empty, others are boarded up, some have been converted into homes. The recent Post Office closures, sixteen across Derby, are a high profile example of vital local services being lost.

"I am delivering a short survey to a range of small shops across Derby South to ask how local shopkeepers view the future. I want to hear the views of the small shop sector first hand. My colleague Brian Cotter MP's Small Shops (Protection) Bill contains measures which, if implemented, would help stop closures".

The Small Shops Bill seeks to prevent further Small Shop closures by requiring local authorities to develop plans to support small shops. It would also provide business rate relief for small shops and businesses with a rateable value of up to £25,000 and enable local communities to have the final say on the building of new large supermarkets nearby.