Few issues are debated as passionately as the state of our town centres, and as we head towards this year’s Small Business Saturday, the future of our small independent retailers will be on many people’s minds.

Independent town centre retailers should be for life and not just for Christmas. However, local people can use this Saturday as a way of ensuring the long term health of our small shops and the diversity of our town centre.

There are many fantastic shops in Chesterfield that are well worth going to for thoughtful gifts this festive season and for Small Business Saturday on December 1st.

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins visited many small businesses in the run up to SBS in order to encourage Chesterfield shoppers to visit the independents. Small Business Saturday is an annual initiative that promotes the importance of using the businesses that bring diversity and uniqueness to our town centres as they are a crucial part of the economy and often offer different products and more personalised service than the big high street names.

Toby said “Small Business Saturday is a great idea to promote smaller companies. In Chesterfield we have some fantastic small firms, often just off the main high streets. For example, in the Shambles and the Yard that I would strongly encourage everyone to visit. Urban Flamingo in the Yard has some great gift ideas and Fabulo in the Shambles sells quality swimwear nightwear and lingerie that you won’t find elsewhere in Chesterfield. Tall Bird Records is another great independent in the town, servicing and driving the vinyl revival as well as selling CDs as well as music related t-shirts and books.

I really hope that SBS will give these unique shops a boost and help keep Chesterfield a great place to visit and shop. We often hear people moaning about the decline of the high street but we have some great businesses here that we need to use or lose.”

For more information about Small Business Saturday visit: http://www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com

Fabulo: https://fabulolingerie.co.uk/

Urban Flamingo: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Gift-Shop/Urban-Flamingo-453782981645931/

Tall Bird Records: http://www.tallbirdrecords.co.uk/