Last week I wrote criticising the Government for not having a coherent strategy to address our country’s regeneration needs. New Ferry is a town centre which needs support during these difficult economic times.
So I was pleased to hear the news that New Ferry Butterfly Park has recently been awarded an empty shops fund grant by Wirral Council. This seed funding was left by the last Labour government to support local trading centres, which were suffering from the increasing number of empty shops.
Our heritage, art and creativity can help New Ferry to beat the economic downturn.
I think the grant, which encourages the use of vacant shop premises for creative activity, will help enhance New Ferry and I welcome this idea for the community. Artists will be producing artwork about, for and with the local community.
A lot more, however, needs to be done to support New Ferry. More shops are closing and we need to come together to put together a strategic plan, to secure a prosperous future for the town centre.
I recently met with the regional manager of LloydsTSB who have told me that they have no plans to move out of the town, and similarly I have had assurances from the Co-op about its future in New Ferry.
I will continue to help fight to secure the future of New Ferry town centre, and other shopping districts in my constituency. Napoleon once said derogatorily that Britain was an island of shopkeepers. This is actually something we should be proud of. We need to do more to support local traders and small to medium sized businesses, which make up the backbone of our economy.
