Shropshire residents urged to support Small Business Saturday
Shropshire residents are today being encouraged to visit their local town centre to show our support for the county’s small businesses, and help provide a boost to Shropshire’s high streets.
The UK’s first-ever ‘Small Business Saturday’ is a new national initiative being held on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
In Shropshire the day aims to raise the profile of the county’s small businesses and encourage people and organisations to buy from them, and special activities are being held in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Much Wenlock, Oswestry, Whitchurch and Market Drayton.
In Shrewsbury, over 20 shop keepers from Wyle Cop and Roushill/Mardol will be taking out stalls in The Square to showcase their businesses and their products and services, and to encourage people to visit these areas of the town. A magician will be entertaining passers-by between 12noon and 2pm.
Festive markets are being held in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Much Wenlock, with local crafts and produce on sale.
Oswestry, Whitchurch and Market Drayton will be celebrating their markets as well as their small shop keepers with special offers available on the day.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s senior management team and cabinet members are joining forces with local MP David Wright and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to volunteer their time to support local businesses.
The team of volunteers will be spreading themselves across Telford and Wrekin’s borough towns. David Wright MP and the FSB will be volunteering with this year’s pantomime cast at Oakengates Theatre @ The Place, from 9am until 4pm.
There will be over 20 traders in the Gallery Bar alongside a range of entertainment with a special appearance from the pantomime cast from 2pm, as well as a magician/illusionist and a musician from Young Britain.
David Wright, MP for Telford, said: “Small businesses are the life blood of our town with over 60 per cent of the borough being made up of Small and Medium Enterprises.
“I am pleased to be working alongside Telford & Wrekin Council and the FSB to provide another opportunity for small businesses to trade and receive a helping hand.”
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for business growth, said:
“Saturday 7 December promises to be the biggest day of the year for many of our small businesses, and particularly the small retailers in our town centres.
“This fantastic new initiative is a great way to promote and support Shropshire’s small businesses, which make a massive contribution to the local, and national, economy.
“There’s lots going on in towns across Shropshire, and I encourage people to head to their nearest town centre on the day and show their support for our small businesses.”
Supported by The Prime Minister, the Government and all major political parties, Small Business Saturday has been launched to celebrate what small businesses of all kinds do both locally and nationally, and to ask everyone to make a special effort to support and do business with them, both on the day and beyond.
The Small Business Saturday initiative started in the United States in 2010 and has so far generated $5.5bn for small businesses in the USA. It is hoped that this success will be replicated in the UK.
