The call by our leaders to support our town centre, and our local traders is a statement of the obvious ... but we wonder what difference it will really make.
The subjects were "key topics" at a Boston Area Partnership "workshop" held on Tuesday 20th and published on the borough's steam-powered website a fortnight later.
The workshop heard that Boston was ahead of the game, with trading at Pescod Square higher than the national figures despite being down by 2.1% compared to this time last year.
Andy Pottle from Pescod Square called for a co-ordinated approach from local authorities and town centre businesses (opening at the same time on Sundays would be a good starter for ten) to promote a “support your town centre” campaign in the coming year.
The problem with Boston town centre is not unique.
Like so many others it has seen the disappearance of many of its truly "local" shops and services, which have been driven out by the relentless invasion of chain stores.
Even so, shopping locally failed to save Woolworths and MFI.
Like many other stores that may follow in their footsteps, their closure was the result of the recession.
We pointed out the other day the lack of imagination in naming the planned West Street area development "Merchants Quay."
If Boston's Merchants Quay reaches fruition, it will be the twelfth so named in the UK and Ireland ... although a few more may well have emerged by the proposed completion date.
What the town needs to make it different - and therefore a magnet for customers - is originality.
We said a long time ago that Boston is sadly nothing more than Clonetown PE21.
In Boston, we have one of every mobile phone shop, almost as many card shops - and charity shops too numerous to mention.
If you were to parachute a shopper from almost anywhere else in the country into Boston, they would be unable to tell where they were because town centres these days all look the same, a situation that will only be made worse when Merchants Quay materialises (if it ever does.)
In the meantime, if Boston wants to encourage people to use what local shops there are to boost the local economy, why not take a leaf out of the book of Lewes, in East Sussex
There, they have issued a local currency in the form of the Lewes Pound which is bought and circulated locally.
As the Lewis Pound website promoting the idea (www.thelewespound.org) says: "Money spent locally circulates within, and benefits the local economy. Money spent in national chains doesn't. The Lewes Pound encourages demand for local goods and services. In turn this builds resilience to the rising costs of energy, transport and food."
The subjects were "key topics" at a Boston Area Partnership "workshop" held on Tuesday 20th and published on the borough's steam-powered website a fortnight later.
The workshop heard that Boston was ahead of the game, with trading at Pescod Square higher than the national figures despite being down by 2.1% compared to this time last year.
Andy Pottle from Pescod Square called for a co-ordinated approach from local authorities and town centre businesses (opening at the same time on Sundays would be a good starter for ten) to promote a “support your town centre” campaign in the coming year.
The problem with Boston town centre is not unique.
Like so many others it has seen the disappearance of many of its truly "local" shops and services, which have been driven out by the relentless invasion of chain stores.
Even so, shopping locally failed to save Woolworths and MFI.
Like many other stores that may follow in their footsteps, their closure was the result of the recession.
We pointed out the other day the lack of imagination in naming the planned West Street area development "Merchants Quay."
If Boston's Merchants Quay reaches fruition, it will be the twelfth so named in the UK and Ireland ... although a few more may well have emerged by the proposed completion date.
What the town needs to make it different - and therefore a magnet for customers - is originality.
We said a long time ago that Boston is sadly nothing more than Clonetown PE21.
In Boston, we have one of every mobile phone shop, almost as many card shops - and charity shops too numerous to mention.
If you were to parachute a shopper from almost anywhere else in the country into Boston, they would be unable to tell where they were because town centres these days all look the same, a situation that will only be made worse when Merchants Quay materialises (if it ever does.)
In the meantime, if Boston wants to encourage people to use what local shops there are to boost the local economy, why not take a leaf out of the book of Lewes, in East Sussex
There, they have issued a local currency in the form of the Lewes Pound which is bought and circulated locally.
As the Lewis Pound website promoting the idea (www.thelewespound.org) says: "Money spent locally circulates within, and benefits the local economy. Money spent in national chains doesn't. The Lewes Pound encourages demand for local goods and services. In turn this builds resilience to the rising costs of energy, transport and food."
An example of the Lewis pound is pictured above, along with our own suggestion for a local version.
Meanwhile, we need to be more selective over which shops we allow to set out their stall in Boston, and also not to drive away events such as the Continental Market and (dare we say it) the May Fair.
People will come here and spend their cash if we make the journey worthwhile.
At the moment there is nothing very special to make people choose Boston as a destination.
A little thought and imagination could soon change all that.
Meanwhile, we need to be more selective over which shops we allow to set out their stall in Boston, and also not to drive away events such as the Continental Market and (dare we say it) the May Fair.
People will come here and spend their cash if we make the journey worthwhile.
At the moment there is nothing very special to make people choose Boston as a destination.
A little thought and imagination could soon change all that.
Write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence if requested.
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