A FROME campaign group has launched a UK first – a one-day event to discuss the impact of supermarkets on local economies.
The Keep Frome Local group aims to use the occasion to kick start a national network, to connect similar groups nationwide also undertaking the arduous task of challenging supermarket planning bids.
The event, entitled ‘Independence Day’, has already attracted a high number and calibre of speakers and support from across the country.
John Harris, Keep Frome Local spokesperson and columnist for The Guardian said, “Every town in Britain is the target of these supermarket powers. There are people everywhere trying their best to stop the places in which they live being effectively whitewashed. As we’ve experienced, this is no easy task. These campaign groups are generally reliant on self funding, enormous amounts of goodwill and an ongoing gathering of critical knowledge and know how.
“It’s all too common for these people to run out of steam, feeling powerless to tackle the ongoing complexity of the associated issues, such as planning law and lobbying local government.
“But, there is hope. There are success stories.
“This event in Frome is geared towards empowering communities to having their say in the development of where they live, and we look forward to hearing more from campaign groups such as the one from Ledbury, which successfully fought off Tesco.”
John added that the event was constructed as Keep Frome Local’s campaigners felt it was time to raise the tempo of their activity.
Since 2010, Keep Frome Local has been actively fighting the arrival of a large supermarket in Frome, which is already occupied by a higher than national average of supermarket retail space.
Independence Day represents the first event of its kind and its creators hope it will instigate the formation of a south-west, or possibly a national network for information sharing between supermarket protest groups.
Keep Frome Locallers aim for the day to tackle subjects the lay person often feels they cannot make a dent in; bridging the information and communication gap between planning, consultation and campaigning.
The event at the Wesley Chapel on Saturday 17th November will focus on supermarkets, big retail and the future of communities., tackling questions including how do independent businesses respond to the threat of big supermarkets; what kind of places do we want to live and work in; is there an alternative to so-called ‘big box’ retailing; what effects big supermarkets have on the environment and food chain; how do we keep a lid on the huge expansion of supermarkets via campaigning, the planning system, and local politics.
John added, “These are the mind of important questions which have been thrown up since we started campaigning and we thought it was time to try and tackle them, in the company of experience, and share this learning experience with people from across the country.
“Independence Day is about Frome taking the lead on what is now a major issue facing every town and village in the UK.”
The Independence Day event will be led by speakers, including Joanna Blythman, food writer, and author of Shopped, the exposé of British supermarkets; Andrew Simms, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation and the author of Tescopoly; Rob Hopkins, one of the UK’s top 100 environmentalists and co-founder of transition town Totnes; Graham Jones, author of Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened To Record Shops; Dominic Swords from the Henley Business School; former Frome resident Elizabeth Winkler from the Stokes Croft Tesco campaign; Richard Hadley, from the Ledbury campaign which successfully fought a Tesco planning bid; Nigel Dowdney, an independent retailer in Norfolk, founder of the Buy Local network and director of the Association Of Convenience Stores; June Player, an independent councilor on Bath and North East Somerset council and campaign leader against a big supermarket at the Bath Press site.
The day will also include breakout sessions, focusing on campaigning, the planning system, and wider subjects such as what will happen to the British High Street, how to create a different sort of retailing, what vision of society unites those concerned about supermarkets, and more.
Those behind Keep Frome Local hope this event will bring people together from Frome, Somerset and further afield, to share experiences of campaigning, using the planning system, and lobbying local government; and to discuss the bigger picture.
John said, “Everyone is welcome to this event, it really is for anyone interested in the future of their local community.”
“We hope also that this event helps local business owners, as well as those behind other anti supermarket campaigns.”
Independence Day (independenceday2012.co.uk) will take place on Saturday 17th November, from 10.30am to 4.00pm at the Wesley Chapel in Frome. Registration for the event costs £11 and tickets are available via cheeseandgrain.co.uk/2012/09/independence-day/. For Frome residents under the age of 25 who would like to attend, there are grants available. These can be applied for by getting in touch via the event’s website.