Member Article

Campaign for local levy on large retail outlets

The FSB in South Yorkshire is backing a call by the Green Councillors on Sheffield City Council which may result in more money being available to invest in local small businesses.

The Green Councillors have proposed a motion calling on the Council to take steps under the Sustainable Communities Act to seek the government’s approval to place a local a levy on retail units with a rateable value of over £500,000. The additional revenue raised from the levy would then be invested in local small businesses.

The catalogue of damage caused by large retailers, especially the giant food chains, is all too familiar to small retail traders, who have been driven from the high street.

By the year 2000 there were only a quarter the number of the butchers and greengrocers as in 1950. Over 3 million people are employed in retail (1 in 9 of all jobs in the UK). Small, family-owned businesses sustain more jobs, in terms of sales, than big stores (pound for pound, about double the number).

Andrew Flower, Chairman of the FSB in South Yorkshire, commented: “Far from creating new jobs, new supermarkets cause a net loss of jobs in the local area as smaller traders are driven to closure. Whereas only 5% of supermarkets’ turnover is reinvested locally, 50% of the turnover of independent retailers goes back into the community.

“Other detrimental effects include excessive pollution and environmental impact (e.g. food miles and packaging), confusing discounting techniques, planning blight, damage to community life and poor working conditions including the use of migrant labour by contractors and subcontractors.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by FSB South and East Yorkshire .