New Businesses Bring 50 New Jobs to St Margarets

la boulangerie
La Boulangerie		 brula pantry
Brula Pantry		 chase
Chase Buchanan

As the UK continues to be gripped by economic gloom, things are definitely looking up in St Margarets as the Deputy Mayor has opened 9 new and refurbished businesses all in one day.

The businesses were formally opened by Deputy Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Lisa Blakemore, following The St Margarets Traders Association’s close partnership with the Council to encourage new business to the area as well as to support existing traders. All of the retail units in St Margarets are now let and trading with 50 new jobs created as a result.

The Council contributed £4,000 from its Town Centre Opportunity Fund, boosting funds raised through the Traders Association. This mean that they were able to promote business in the area through a range of initiatives including the my St Margarets website and magazine which is delivered to 8000 homes and a further 4000 more being handed out around the borough. Other projects include the launch of the St Margarets shopping bag which aims to reduce the use of plastic bags. Over 2000 of the bags have been sold to date. The St Margarets heart logo project was also launched among businesses, which encouraged new customers to shops by promoting the catch phrase - where you have a choice, please shop with the heart.

Ches's Trattoria
Ches’s Trattoria		 crown cycles
Crown Cycles		Pilates Plus
Pilates Plus

Cllr Pamela Fleming, Cabinet Member for Community, Business and Culture said:

“With all the doom and gloom we read about the retail sector, today goes to show what wonderful results can be achieved with good partnership between traders and the Council. This small shopping parade comprises of mainly independent shops and through working together in creative ways, these traders have managed to develop a vibrant and successful retail area that all of St Margarets and the borough can be proud of.”

Simon Chapman, Chairman of the St Margarets’ Traders Association said:

“St Margarets boasts a unique high street bursting with independent specialist shops offering a wide and varied range of goods, services and places to eat. Over the past few weeks many new businesses have opened and many existing businesses have been refurbished.

Thorougoods
Thorougoods		The Turks Head
The Turks Head		Vet in St Margarets
The Vet in St Margarets

“There are now no empty shops here, and very few areas are able to claim that. St Margarets is definitely leading the way in terms of new business, so it’s quite a celebration to have nine new and refurbished businesses formally opened in one day. The great support from the Council is clear evidence that they are listening and reacting positively to resident’s views as reflected in the All in One Survey which rated highly the importance of local shops. We’ve had great support from the Economic Development team at Richmond, generous funding from their Town Centre Opportunities fund, and further support from the Parking team and more recently the recycling team whose project sought to increase levels of recycling and reducing costs among businesses.”

— from a St Margarets Traders Association press release

  • September 13, 2012 9:51 PM