Shadow Business Secretary Visits Independent Traders in Chiswick

It was good to meet Chuka Umunna in Chiswick this week.  He’s Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary and he takes a particular interest in the challenges facing small businesses.  Thursday was Retail Independent Day, and Chuka is leading calls to encourage consumers to shop with local independents .  Research shows that of every £1 spent locally between 50p and 70p recirculates back into the local economy. But many shopping areas, including Chiswick, are under pressure from shopping malls, big chains and internet competition. The National Campaign encourages the public to buy at least one thing from an independent shop on Independents' Day.

During his visit, we asked shoppers to sign a petition calling on the Council GLA and National Government to help maintain and protect the character of Chiswick as a historic High Road with a strong representation of independent shops and businesses.

We then visited several shops including Mortimer and Bennett in Turnham Green Terrace and Top Hat in Devonshire Road.   Chuka said "I know how strongly people in Chiswick feel about the great character of the local area. Shops like Chiswick Hardware and Mortimer & Bennett delicatessen, obviously bring great richness and variety". He said the Labour Party was determined to help small businesses and he was looking forward to a momentum building up ahead of the inaugural UK Small Business Saturday on December 7th.

Dan Mortimer, and Michael at Top Hat told me afterwards that Chuka was genuinely concerned about the challenges the independent shops in Chiswick face. Dan feels that the character of Turnham Green Terrace is changing as there are more and more estate agents, chains and charity shops coming in paying higher rents, and short stay parking is expensive. This then leads to the lower footfall that they are experiencing.

I feel that right now the biggest threat to retail shops in any town centre are changes of use to estate agents (in Chiswick’s case) or Betting Shops (in Hounslow Town Centre). The Council recently refused planning permission for a shop to become an estate agent in Turnham Green Terrace, which sent a positive signal to the retailers and I understand helped them in their rent negotiations with their landlords. However the Government's recent changes to planning law mean that permission isn't needed to change a shop into another commercial use. This could be the death knell for vibrant local streets like those in Chiswick. I urged Chuka to reverse this terrible policy brought in by Eric Pickles.

Parking is another bugbear of traders, and the traders we spoke to said that even 10 minutes free parking would make a big difference to their customers.