Shoppers are being urged to support local businesses as the countdown to Christmas begins in earnest.
West Lancashire Borough Council is supporting Small Business Saturday UK, a national campaign to celebrate and encourage people to shop at independent local stores.
The campaign takes place on Saturday 7 December, one of the busiest shopping days in the year, and aims to encourage people to shop local at small businesses in their area. And from that day shoppers can save money when using the Council’s car parks. Visitors who buy a pay and display ticket will receive an additional two hours free parking.
This special offer applies only to Council controlled pay and display car parks. So users or motorists should ensure they read car park signage.
Councillor Adrian Owens, portfolio holder for Regeneration, said: “The Council is delighted to support Small Business Saturday. The aim of the day is to celebrate, support and promote small businesses at a key time in the shopping calendar.
“We’re fortunate to have some great independent local traders in our borough, so please show your support for these vital shops and services.”
If you’re a small West Lancashire business and are interested in taking part in Small Business Saturday UK you can visit our Small Business Saturday page or email [email protected] for information on how to get involved.
Registered businesses will receive the following support to help make Small Business Saturday work for them:
- A listing on our Small Business Saturday webpage, including links to your website, Facebook and Twitter pages
- Promotional materials to advertise your participation in the event, including printable posters/leaflets to display at your business or hand out to customers
- Mentions on the Council’s Twitter page to encourage customers to shop with you on the day
Residents are being urged to 'keep it local' by doing all or most of their shopping on 7 December 2013 with independent small businesses in West Lancashire. Ways people can get involved could include:
- Buying meat from a local butcher and vegetables from the greengrocer
- Going for a coffee with your friends at a local café
- Treating the family to a meal out at a local pub or restaurant
- Buying Christmas cards and gifts from a local independent shop or market stall
Love Ormskirk are fully supportive of the initiative and you will be able to learn more about the work they do in promoting our local businesses by visiting their market stall on the day. Love Ormskirk will also be giving out FREE tea and coffee, Love Ormskirk carrier bags, and lots of offers from their business members to use during December. Brew and Bake, one of Ormskirk’s newest editions to cafe culture, will be supplying FREE tasters of their delicious homemade treats at the LO market stall as well.
Motorists should note that the two extra free hours will not be shown on the pay and display parking ticket purchased from the machine. So, for example, if you buy a ticket at 10am for one hour's parking the ticket will still show an expiry time of 11am. However, during the special offer period, you will be able to park until 1pm.
Notices explaining the offer will be on display at the car parks. All car park attendants are aware of the offer and will allow for the extra two hours after the indicated ticket expiry time.