Shoppers at the top end of Friargate

A campaign to encourage Prestonians to support their local independent businesses has been launched.

The Lancashire Evening Post and Preston Business Improvement District (BID) have teamed up to support the local economy.

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Shop Local, Eat Local, Play Local is the name of the campaign.

A story on the Post’s website says: “We are urging people to ‘Shop Local, Eat Local, Play Local’ to help ensure traders across the county continue to play a prominent role.

“The campaign is encouraging people to use local shops. We know times are tight but we want shoppers to discover the benefits of supporting our local high street.

“Whether it’s buying meat from your butcher, fruit and veg from a greengrocer or a coffee in an independent café, the campaign is all about experiencing the best local retailers.”

Mark Whittle from Preston BID says confidence in the city centre is growing.

He said: “We survey 1,000 people visiting Preston and the comments received are more positive this year than any other year since the survey began in 2009.

“There is a resurgence of pride for our city centre, its business, events and activities, something that together, we can build on even more.

“Many of the visitors surveyed don’t live or work in Preston, but this is their shopping and leisure destination of choice, which speaks volumes about our offer.”

Preston BID is there to promote the city centre, putting on a range of events from the Lancashire Market to the Christmas Lights Switch On to encourage people to visit the city centre.

Blog Preston would like to support this campaign, so tell us in the comments below what’s your favourite independent store, shop or place to visit in the city?

Image credit to George D Thompson