IN response to the letter by R Swindells on Bolton needs more large stores and shops.

I whole heartedly support and agree with the ethos of your letter ‘R Swindells’ in Tuesday's Bolton News.

Something drastic and radical needs to be done to save OUR town centre as at present it feels like a ghost town and at times – it feels there are more empty shops than open ones. However, from an economic point of view I really don’t think that ‘larger shops’ is the way forward. Understanding the economy and the subsidies these larger companies receive is crucial to understanding why big business is not always best.

Many of the ‘big businesses’ receive subsidies, tax breaks etc, their employees are more often than not are employed on zero hour contracts and are paid less than the living wage. This creates a need for their wages to be topped up by benefits and tax credits.

There are health implications for lower paid workers, which costs the NHS and then us more in taxation. In effect, we’re paying three times for the luxury of big companies and cheap convenient goods – once buying the goods and second through the additional taxes paid back to ‘big business’ and thirdly the NHS. This is similar to what you mention in your letter regarding free parking promoted by Cllr Morris – it is not FREE parking at all as it is being paid for us, the tax payer. OUR hard work and OUR taxes are THEIR profits.

You may recall the vibrancy of the market hall which once housed many smaller, local more personal businesses? They offered great value service and supported many local with jobs. There were lots of protests at the time, and I’m sure many will agree that the market hall has been worse off for the changes. As we’ve seen with the market hall, larger companies don’t always offer greater choice, better service or improve the high street. You could say that sometimes they often stifle competition, reduce new businesses from entering the market and mute a once vibrant economy.

Bolton should be a vibrant, dynamic town. Individuals should be falling over themselves trying to open a business in Bolton. We should be the birth place for innovation, businesses that offer our residents something unique and interesting – giving them a reason to shop in our town centre. They should be businesses that pay a fair and decent wage so their workers don’t need top ups with benefits and tax credits. If you work you should have enough money left over to enjoy yourself.

Warren Fox

Bolton Liberal Democrats

Astley Bridge