Henry Smith MP has encouraged people in Crawley to join him in showing their support for the high street by shopping locally for High Street Saturday on 16th March.

High Street Saturday, a new campaign day, aims to celebrate the place of high streets at the heart of communities like Crawley and throughout the country. As part of the day, people are being encouraged to;

• Pledge to shop locally on High Street Saturday
• Share photos and messages online using #HighStreetSaturday
• Encourage local councils to make good use of the Future High Street Fund, provided by the Government to make high streets and town centres fit for the future

Henry said;

“High streets like Crawley are instrumental in bringing people together – acting as a meeting place for friends and families and long supporting jobs for local people.

“As the retail market changes, I’m encouraging people across Crawley to join me on 16th March in pledging to shop locally to support the independent businesses we all know and love. 

“It’s right that action’s being taken to back our high streets through business rates support, help for high streets to modernise and working to transform empty shops into new homes.”

High streets have long been a place to bring communities together, a place for local people to access vital services and a place for businesses to thrive. With the Government recognising that it is becoming harder for businesses on high streets across the country to compete with out-of-town shopping centres and online retailers, action has been taken to;

• Deliver over £10 billion of business rates support since 2016, including cutting small retailers’ bills by a third
• Support community leaders with £675 million of funding to help modernise their high streets and town centres
• Relax planning rules to support new homes on the high street, transforming them into community hubs where people work, live and shop

High Street Saturday is a chance for local people to come together to celebrate and support the high streets at the heart of their local communities.