I’ve been supporting our fantastic high streets, shops and markets across Chester South an Eddisbury today. I started my morning in Westminster Park with Cllr Razia Daniels, who holds a monthly Street Surgery across her ward of Handbridge Park. I stopped by the Tarporley Village Market which is open at Tarporley Community Centre on the first Saturday of each month (except January). The High Street was buzzing with Christmas Carols, plenty of Santas following the Santa Dash, and two of Father Christmas' Reindeer even made an appearance! It was a really fun morning and great to see the market and shops getting lots of custom. Finally, I visited the Audlem Craft fair for a delicious coffee and some unique shopping opportunities.
We are lucky to have so many independent shops, and markets selling local produce and handmade crafts, as well as great coffee shops, pubs and restaurants locally. Our small businesses have a big impact on our community, so if you can then please do support them this Christmas.
Our high streets are central to our community. Across the UK small and medium businesses make up 99.9 per cent of the 5.6 million businesses – they employ almost 17 million people and contribute £2.4 trillion to the economy.
That is why we are helping small businesses succeed by cutting their businesses rates, cutting the cost of employing staff and keeping corporation tax low. We are also freeing up billions of pounds of Start Up Loans so new businesses are created every day. By taking the long-term decisions to support these businesses we are supporting local jobs and helping to secure economic growth to fund public services.
