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Can small shop closures be stopped?
28/ 1/2005
EXPERTS are putting their heads together to reverse the decline
of the traditional High Street.
In recent years many `old-fashioned' shopping parades boasting
independent butchers, bakers and grocers have fallen empty as
shopping habits have changed.
Major retailers have taken the place of family businesses in many
areas, leading to the growth of what critics call "clone towns"
across the country.
Now Manchester Metropolitan University will lead a £2.7m project to
identify ways of reversing the decline.
The EU-funded Agora project, which is to be co-ordinated by the
university's business school, will champion the growth of small
independent shops. The Association of Town Centre Managers, the
Department of Trade and Industry, local authorities and New East
Manchester will be working with MMU on the project.
Northenden is one south Manchester area where the decline is
particularly apparent, with Palatine Road traders saying they are
fighting for survival and that family stores have been replaced by
fast food outlets and massage parlours.
In July a report revealed that more than 1,000 independent food
retailers have gone out of business in Manchester in the last 20
years.
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