It's true, without you advertising in the paper this month, last month or next month we would have no paper. A while ago I decided I could advertise my shop or I could offer the small businesses in my town a way to advertise that was cheaper than the local newspaper. Needless to say I chose the latter however in the intervening time from first try to the current format I noticed all four towns on my side of Tameside were suffering due to the primary retail focus and first town of Tameside being Ashton.
The other towns have been feeling more and more like ghost towns due to ....
Lack of implemented regeneration plans.
Lack of thoughtful investment.
Lack of sympathetic development.
Poor planning on roads.
Inadequate parking, excessive & confusing restrictions and parking fees.
Planting of supermarkets in town centres.
Conversion of retail space to non retail outlets.
Building of housing stock in town centre spaces.
Removal of regular markets.
It is time for the four towns in the S.H.M.D area to decide to make their town centres great again.
Through advertising at reasonable rates.
Through coordinated promotions and marketing.
Through communication and a decision to move forward, together.
Through cooperation between businesses to promote each other.
Through recommendation online and in the paper to prove that the businesses are worthwhile and useful.
Through deciding to put all differences behind them and work to a common goal of making the town they have invested in all that it was planned to be, again.
So Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield can say
Your Town, My Town,
Our Towns
Words are all well and good but it needs decisive action to make it happen. S.H.M.D are proud towns with a history of working together to make our towns better. It is time to make it happen again, these are our towns and it is our collective decision and action that will make our High Streets just that again. S.H.M.D. News is the start of the tables turning; it is time for our towns to become everything our forefathers worked for them to be. Our towns are not meant to be suburbs of Ashton.