Having recently moved house we wanted to try to use local businesses to do the work required on our new (to us) house.

We bought flooring from an Aughton shop but one owned by a Maghull resident
We bought solar panels from a Southport business/shop
We employed a Southport builder who employed local subcontractors

In Lydiate where we live and Maghull where we used to live there are some great shops such as Cray’s for electrical items. I use Rumbles Coffee shop in Liverpool Rd Nth Maghull. I get my hair cut at ‘The Business’ in Moss Lane Lydiate.

There is no doubt that local shops are changing. I have lived in Maghull since I was 10 when there were at least 3 DIY shops but we don’t have one at all now. Lots of corner shops have gone as the food market has been taken over by the supermarkets. Local butchers are clearly declining yet there are some such as Callaghan’s in Maghull Square that seem to be doing quite well as they have diversified into more than simply cuts of meat.

The retail market is clearly being changed by the internet and the fact we buy so much on line these days. So the challenge for local shopping is for it to offer something different. That is clearly a tough ask especially in the teeth of a massive economic down turn.

I really do hope local shops survive and the Government’s work to try to put a stop to the loss of Post Offices must be a very positive move after years of us loosing many Post Offices under previous Governments. Post Offices are very much an important part of the high street.

The above is based on what I recently said to a local student who contacted me asking for my views on the Save our Local shops campaign. It certainly made me think about what I buy locally and how I support local businesses. And only today a local resident pointed out to me his concerns about how we should all try to use local enterprise as much as we can.

We often these days talk about local environmental sustainability but local economic sustainability must be just as important. Food for thought indeed and maybe it should be possible to marry these two important objectives up. We have a lot of high grade agricultural land in Sefton which could be the launch pad for a new sustainable food growing industry for local consumption. Why not indeed…..