SHOPPERS are being encouraged to get behind their local high street in the run up to Christmas.

Suzanne Bennett, who owns children’s clothes shop Sid and Evie, in George Lane, South Woodford, says local businesses must act now if they are to have any chance of competing with shopping malls such as Westfield Stratford City.

She said: "A lot of people don’t want to say their business is feeling (the presence of Westfield) but I can’t see how traders aren’t noticing less people – there’s a definite lack of footfall.

“If people stop coming here it will all become charity shops and pound shops. It could take 60 years to recover.”

Mrs Bennett, 43, has had posters drawn up with a picture of Lord Kitchener, which say “Shop local, South Woodford. Your High Street Needs You!” The posters will be displayed in the windows of shops in George Lane.

She and many other George Lane businesses are also planning to slash their prices on December 3 to encourage people to return to their local shops.

The mother-of-two, who named her shop after her children, added: “Hopefully we’re all going to come together and offer discounts in our shops.

“I want to encourage people to come and visit us, so we’ll probably offer a sweeping discount across all our stock, but it really is down to the individual stores.

“We could call it ‘Saturday special’. I hope it will increase our footfall, but you never know until you try.”

More than 200,000 people visited Westfield Stratford City on its opening day, but the boom for the major retailers has led to gloom for local businesses.

Children’s clothing shop Knock Down Ginger, in Wanstead High Street, is closing down to become an online-only store after three years of trading.

Mrs Bennett, of Pelham Road, South Woodford, said: “We are almost all family-run and locals, so we all know our customers. We will bend over backwards to serve people.

“When you shop in those malls (such as Westfield Stratford City) they don’t really care if you spend your money or not, because they have so many people every day.”

She also called on the council to promote its Redbridge Card further, which offers special offers and discounts in around 400 local shops.

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