- Heatwave warning
- £1million for more borough playgrounds
- Record numbers for youth services
- New children's centre for Hampton
- New task group helps parents participate in their children’s education
- Emergency support for carers
- People needed to help disabled children take part in activities
- Greycourt School pupil designs Council’s new youth web pages
- Homecare standards at new high
- Heathrow meeting call to new transport secretary
- Council makes cycling even easier
- Making more allotments available
- Have your say on the re-development of the Avenue Centre
- Pupils aim to go waste free for lunch
- Twickenham Carnival comes to town
- Young people's votes to decide how £1million youth fund is spent
- Richmond upon Thames - the best place to live
- Lord Puttnam visits as Art Fund Prize decision day looms
- Drive easy in Richmond town centre
- Healthy alternative to drugs
- Council concerned over preservation of Normansfield
- Teaching Awards hope for Hampton Hill
- Last chance to help Orleans House Gallery win £100,000
- Be local, buy local, and be proud of Whitton
Release Date: 01/06/2009
Be local, buy local, and be proud of Whitton
Families in Whitton are being urged to help their local businesses as part of a new campaign to ‘shop local’ which is being launched on Saturday June 6.
Shop Local Week, supported by Richmond Council and town centre management aims to help traders beat the recession and ensure local shops continue to thrive for the community.
The message to residents is to think whether they can buy that new carpet or fridge, their weekly shopping, or even small items like a fuse or bottle of wine from one of the town’s dozens of independent shops, rather than heading straight for the big chain supermarkets.
As part of the campaign, shoppers are being encouraged to go green and ditch their plastic bags by buying a new “Shop Locally First” Whitton Jute bag. Money raised will be put back into future initiatives to promote the town.
Jon Freer, Richmond Council’s Assistant Director for Environment, said: “Businesses big and small play a huge part in the life of our borough, but it’s a fact that small shops and firms are being hit extra hard because of the recession and they really do need your help.
“This borough is characterised and loved for its small towns and villages, and a vital part of their make-up is the mix of shops, which residents and the millions of visitors we have each year enjoy visiting so we’re keen to see them do well and survive the current financial pressure. The Council has a number of initiatives in place to help and advise traders, but the best support is for people to use their services.”
Whitton’s Town Centre Manager, Amanda Lyndon-Chappell said: “Local shops are a vital part of Whitton’s individual character and giving your custom to them supports the town’s economy, makes for a more vibrant community, creates jobs, is environmentally beneficial, and it attracts both people and new businesses to the area. We have to use them or face losing them.”
View the full press release