The town where I grew up, Bath, has seen a significant drop in the number of independent shops in recent years – and a significant rise in chain stores.
Media coverage of the phenomenon has been rife: in towns across the country, independent clothes shops, record shops and cafes are moving out, and Top Shop, HMV and Starbucks are moving in, draining towns everywhere of their character.
So it was very gratifying when a press release dropped into my inbox this week which said Bath’s independent traders are ‘up in arms about the state of their city’, and have formed a campaign to stop high street chains from taking over.
The Bath Independent Group (BIG), is headed by local toyshop owner and ex-Mayor of Bath, Eric Snook. Snook has been trading for over 50 years, and is the closest thing Bath has to Father Christmas: the city’s children squander their pocket money in his shop on a weekly basis, mostly on things like pots of goo with googly eyes that make farting noises when you press them and bouncy balls which bounce extra high.
The idea that Snook’s may be under threat brings my inner-eight-year-old dangerously close to a tantrum, but Snook says Bath is in its worst state ever. “You see it across the country. Lovely cities are losing their wonderful magic.
“Years ago, everyone had their favourite restaurant and their favourite shop. Now, they’re diminishing so rapidly it’s unbelievable. We’ve got to get that magic back.”
Snook also blames high rent prices in city centres for driving out smaller shops. “It’s all down to who is prepared to pay the pennies. If landlords aren’t careful, with the internet eating into retail sales, landlords are going to find their properties empty.”
The BIG campaign seems to be making some headway, though: last week, the group celebrated when Bath and North East Somerset Council announced it would be appointing a ‘city centre manager’ and establishing a public-private partnership initiative, Future Bath Plus, to address their issues.
Perhaps BIG’s is an example that can be followed across the UK. The battle against the takeover of high street chains is a situation where the adage 'there’s strength in numbers' rings truer than ever – and now is as good a time as ever to start the fight.
