Local businesses and shops are the heart of the community, they provide, in the long-run, more jobs than large superstores, and when you compare a broad range of proiducts, are actually cheaper than the majors (the latter loss-lead on key items like butter, milk and potatoes to get you through the door, but ramp up the prices on other goods). In addition, local stores give a community some valuable side benefits

- shops on a street create more pedestrian traffic, make a street feel more alive and thus reduce crime - conversion into homes does the opposite
- forcing people to shop further away makes shopping more difficult for the elderly, the infirm and young mums
- large superstores also mean more traffic on the roads as people drive to them
- local shops make a borough feel different, unique and ours - our streets shouldn’t be yet another line of the same chain stores
That’s why it’s just insane for the Lib dems to say they’re green and yet sell-off dozens of council-owned shops to property developers. The council has a fundamental responsibility to protect the long-term health of the borough and ensuring a proper mix of housing and shops is integral to that. The short-term financial boost of the sale fails to take into account the longer-term costs of all the issues outlined above. It’s why IGP has bitterly opposed the sell-off (some of our members run local shops and services). Instead we propose a 10-point charter, which has been winning support from local businesses

• No more big supermarket developments in Islington
• More Council goods and services bought from local suppliers
• Better public transport to make Islington shops more accessible
• Free short-term parking outside local shops
• Parking enforcement taken away from private contractors
• More affordable shop and business units for local traders
• Protection for Islington’s street markets
• Action on unfair rent rises and rate relief for community shops
• More money to help convert flats above shops
• Council support for restoring the Post Office network