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14/10/2004
Belfast council's action plan set to boost retail sector
The importance of the independent retail sector to the life and prosperity of the city is being highlighted in a new action plan being developed by Belfast City Council.
As part of it’s Local Economic Development Plan 2002-2006, designed to foster neighbourhood renewal and integrate area-based initiatives with city development, the Council has agreed to allocate £30,000 for a development plan which includes detailed research into factors affecting the independent retail sector.
Chairman of the Economic Development Sub-Committee, Councillor Chris McGimpsey, said: “Independent retailers are very important and add something extra to any city not just in the variety and service they offer but very often they are the first to open their doors to new designers and products, as well as offering craftsmen and women somewhere to market their goods.
“To ensure we offer the best help possible to independent traders we are proposing to carry out specific research into the sector so we can tailor any development to meet specific local need."
Among the strategic objectives of the research will be: to assess the strategic importance of independent traders and the factors affecting them; to review in depth the strength of the independent retail sector in the Belfast economy (food, clothing and crafts), assessing their relationships with chain stores and multinational companies, and identifying market opportunities and; to assess the effects on competition of support for independent traders.
“At present we have no baseline assessment from which to work and the crucial aim of the research to be undertaken is to identify key issues facing independent retail businesses and formulate a way forward for them in the Belfast City Council area,” Mr McGimpsey concluded.
(MB/GMCG)
As part of it’s Local Economic Development Plan 2002-2006, designed to foster neighbourhood renewal and integrate area-based initiatives with city development, the Council has agreed to allocate £30,000 for a development plan which includes detailed research into factors affecting the independent retail sector.
Chairman of the Economic Development Sub-Committee, Councillor Chris McGimpsey, said: “Independent retailers are very important and add something extra to any city not just in the variety and service they offer but very often they are the first to open their doors to new designers and products, as well as offering craftsmen and women somewhere to market their goods.
“To ensure we offer the best help possible to independent traders we are proposing to carry out specific research into the sector so we can tailor any development to meet specific local need."
Among the strategic objectives of the research will be: to assess the strategic importance of independent traders and the factors affecting them; to review in depth the strength of the independent retail sector in the Belfast economy (food, clothing and crafts), assessing their relationships with chain stores and multinational companies, and identifying market opportunities and; to assess the effects on competition of support for independent traders.
“At present we have no baseline assessment from which to work and the crucial aim of the research to be undertaken is to identify key issues facing independent retail businesses and formulate a way forward for them in the Belfast City Council area,” Mr McGimpsey concluded.
(MB/GMCG)
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