Love is in the air as retailers set out to woo more shoppers

Retailers have chosen Valentine’s Day to unveil the scheme, which will see shoppers given reward cards to entice them to spend their money locally.

Although the town centre appears to have fared quite well during the recession, according to the latest statistics from the Local Data Company, 15.8 per cent of retail units are empty, compared to a national average of 14.3 per cent.

But retailers in the town think they have plenty to offer shoppers – if only they knew about it.

One of the town’s selling points is that it has an unusually high number of independent stores – 48 per cent at the last count.

Marketing students from Goole College will be handing out reward cards, which can be worn on a key fob and which give shoppers access to offers and special deals, in the shopping precinct on Boothferry Road today and in the Market Hall tomorrow.

The initiative was dreamt up by Goole Town Council and Business in Goole, which represents local firms, with the support of Goole Renaissance.

Chairman of Business in Goole Andy Carroll, who runs IT Express on Boothferry Road in the town, has donated a website to support the campaign which also goes live today. He said: “I’m not sure Goole is unloved, it is overlooked.

“In some parts of Goole there are people who earn quite a lot of money and commute. We also lose business because of the M62; Doncaster, Castleford and Hull are all within half an hour’s drive.

“We want to give people an excuse to come into Goole itself; I think they will be pleasantly surprised. We are not a clone town.There are many independent retailers.

“We have many low income blue collar workers and we still have many commuters and we want a good offer for both of them.”

Coun Brent Huntingdon said he hoped the slogan would be taken up to promote other events in the town: “It is trying to promote Goole as a town which people can be proud of.”

Renaissance manager Helen Hoult said: “Goole has a mixed image – it just depends who you are talking to. There are people who think it is pretty down-trodden and hasn’t a lot to offer, and those who think it is a great little community.

“Many people say its biggest critics are its own people.

“There’s a huge variety of supermarkets in the town centre all of which offer three hours parking and we have independent retailers, everything from bargain shops to designer shoes and handbags.

“I hope this initiative raises a few eyebrows and becomes an interesting talking point and people will debate whether it is fair to love Goole or not.

“What I often say to people is don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see. People have to come and see it for themselves.”

The town may now put a bid to the Government to become a so-called “Portas Pilot”, following retail guru Mary Portas review of high streets. The competition will see 12 towns share £1m.

Mary Portas’ suggestions included creating new “town teams”; removing red tape to make it easier for independent retailers to get started; encouraging affordable town centre car parking and introducing an annual national market day for budding entrepreneurs.

Ms Hoult said: “I think we have a good start. The idea of the loyalty card scheme has come from Goole retailers – it has not something that someone has imposed on them.

“From my work one of the biggest obstacles is getting people to work together and seeing the benefits in the wider town. It’s about building a network and the capacity of people to get involved.”

New parish council looks unlikely

A “BREAKAWAY” move to allow a new parish council to be established in Old Goole appears to be petering out. More than 400 people petitioned East Riding Council asking for a change last year. However only a handful responded to a review and a counter petition with 600 names was sent in. A second round of consultation on the recommendation that no further action is taken ended on Sunday.