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Liverpool’s Shopper Culture Supports the High Street, but still
Over-Pollutes
ON 18 April 2006, research
released by TouchLocal.com found that one of the UK’s fastest
growing online local business finders, reveals that 48% of Liverpool
shoppers prefer to walk to the shops, 7% above the national average.
However, they are still responsible for high CO2 emissions, 1.16kg
per shopping trip, which is 7% higher than the national average. 52%
of Liverpool shoppers shop on their local high street instead of out
of town shopping centres.
The national survey revealed the real cost of convenient out of town
shopping centres and business parks. Monthly CO2 emissions created
by UK shoppers who prefer out-of-town shops have grown to 5.43kg per
month each. This research follows government figures released at the
end of March showing that Britain’s CO2 emissions have risen for a
third successive year.
UK based TouchLocal.com is currently one of the largest companies
providing local business information across small and medium
businesses. The survey results were gathered from over 2,350 users
across Touch Locals’ 114 regional business finder portals, which
attract 1.7m unique users looking for UK local businesses and
services.
Despite the fact that 63% of UK shoppers are either a walk or a five
minute drive from their local shops, 43% still choose to travel to
out-of-town stores. Indeed, when asked the most important factor
when choosing a shop, only 10% chose the shortest distance to travel
– variety of goods came out highest at 47%. More
environmentally-friendly online shopping is responsible for only 7%
of purchases.
A major factor in the high level of emissions is the frequency
people go shopping:- 77% of shoppers choose to shop on a weekly
basis, compared to 19% who go monthly.
Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner, Tony Bosworth commented
on these findings:- “Out of town stores have a negative impact
on our town centres and contribute to global climate change, the
biggest threat the planet faces. By shopping locally people can make
a real difference by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and
supporting local businesses.”
Victoria Carson, Campaigns Manager, The Forum of Private Business
added:- “We are concerned that disproportionate burdens are
placed on small high street retailers due an uneven playing field
between out-of-town shopping centres and the high street. Large
centres have massive amounts of free car parking space, which
attracts thousands of shoppers and their cars. The TouchLocal.com
survey looks into the CO2 issues with out of town shopping centres -
local councils should promote their city centre shops by making
parking free of charge, then we would see a substantial reduction in
the number of cars going to out-of-town shopping centres, with
shoppers only travelling short distances to their local high street
shops, thus helping not only small independent businesses but also
the environment.”
The figures also reveal a regional split suggesting a number of
shopping ‘types’ that the nation can be broken down into.
Liverpool shoppers are characterised as ‘community shoppers’
who generally make small shopping trips twice a week to local high
street shops that are within walking distance.
Conversely, Welsh shoppers are more likely to be ‘commuter shoppers’
who visit out of town shopping centres on a weekly basis, which are
often over fifteen minutes drive away. The result is 4.91kg of CO2
created per Welsh shopper every month, 0.38 kg above the UK
average. The Scottish are the most polluting shoppers, emitting
5.52kg per month.
It’s not all doom and gloom. UK under 18s are taking the lead in
environmental concerns, with 72% choosing to shop locally and leave
their cars at home. Yorkshire’s teenagers are the most
environmentally conscious teenager shoppers, with 35% of under 18s
shopping locally. Shoppers in the South West win the award for most
online shoppers, at 9%.
· Results from TouchLocal.com survey show 48% of Liverpool shoppers
prefer to walk to the shops, 7% above the national average
· Despite this, CO2 emissions are still too high: an average of
1.16kg per shopping trip
· Nation broken down into ‘community’ shoppers, like people from
Liverpool, and ‘commuter’ shoppers
· Scotland has the most polluting shoppers, emitting 5.52kg per
month (per customer)
· Worst offenders are the 45+ age group (52%) whilst under 18’s are
driving a High Street renaissance (72%)
· More environment friendly online shopping only totals 7% of
overall shopping |
EVERTON
LEGENDS LINE-UP FOR PUB’S CHARITY NIGHT
THE heroes of Everton’s glorious
past will line-up for a star-studded Sportsman’s Night in support of
two worthy causes next month.
Legendary managerial team, Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey, head the
cast of special guests for the charity fund-raiser which will be
held at the Halfway House pub in Birkenhead on Wednesday 17 May
2006.
They will be accompanied by former Everton and England stars Brian
Labone and Gordon West, as well as Roger Kenyon, for what promises
to be the latest in a series of memorable Sportsman’s Nights.
Money raised on the night will go to the Alder Hey Children’s
Hospital’s Rocking Horse Appeal and the Claire House Hospice with
the 150 tickets priced at £10.00 each expected to be in big demand.
Graham Rothwell, Manager of the popular Mitchells & Butlers pub on
Woodchurch Road in Birkenhead, explained:- “We have held a
number of successful fund-raisers like this in the past and I am
sure these Everton legends will make this another wonderful
occasion.
We have nominated different charities for these occasions, but the
Claire House Children’s Hospice is one that is particularly close to
our hearts and we have raised about £4,000 for them from recent
events.
I am sure we will be able to add another significant sum to that
figure and raise valuable funds for the Rocking Horse Appeal too.”
It will be an occasion when several members of Everton’s Hall of
Fame will reminisce about glorious times in the past as a forum
featuring the five special guests provides the highlight of the
evening’s entertainment.
Kendall and Harvey were not only midfield stars who helped Everton
to win the 1969 - 70 League Championship, they were reunited as a
managerial team for a glittering spell in which the Toffees won the
League title twice, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup in
the eighties.
Labone, West and Kenyon were also fabulous servants of the Goodison
Park club in the sixties and seventies, and they will be joined on
the night by well-known comedian Micky Finn, himself an Everton
supporter.
As well as proceeds from the sale of the tickets, there will be an
auction of memorabilia and a raffle held on the night to boost
funds.
Tickets are on sale now at the pub and can also be booked over the
phone by contacting 0151 609 4331. Those who wish to attend the
event are advised to book early.
Track and signal
failures impact on Merseyside
TRACK and signal failures are
continuing to cause major problems on the Merseyrail network in
Merseyside, only nine days after Network Rail turned down plans to
transfer responsibility for the signals, tracks and infrastructure
to Merseytravel.
The latest problems, on the Merseyrail Electrics Wirral Line on
Wednesday 19 April 2006, saw around 50 passengers detrained from a
tunnel under the River Mersey after an electric cable feeding the
third rail failed. The passengers were led to safety but the power
failure forced trains to turn back at Birkenhead Central and
Birkenhead North on the Wirral. Neil Scales, Chief
Executive and Director General of Merseytravel said:- “The
detraining of passengers could have been carried out locally by us
in around 15 minutes. Instead, we had to wait for Network Rail staff
and it took around one hour and 20 minutes.”
On 10 April 10 2006, Network Rail said it would not transfer
responsibility for signals, tracks and infrastructure to
Merseytravel under proposals known as Full Local Decision Making (FLDM).
It said its “strong performance” would help
“ensure that the people of Merseyside continue to receive a first
class service”. In the nine days since 10 April
2006, Merseyrail Electrics has had to bear the brunt of a large
number of defects and failures, including 15 track circuit failures.
The faults are discovered by monitoring systems in place to ensure
the safe running of the railway. However, they have caused major
problems including cancellations and delays to services. Neil
Scales added:- “Safety measures are in place, however, the
number of trains being cancelled and the levels of services being
disrupted are unacceptable. After their decision, we
said the onus was on Network Rail to deliver and, quite simply, they
are not. It’s incredibly disappointing that problems are continuing
despite their assurances. We want to run our train
services to the highest standards of punctuality and reliability,
but we can’t do that if we keep experiencing problems like these. We
still believe we could achieve better results if we had control over
the track, signals and related infrastructure.”
Merseytravel’s FLDM proposals would have improved performance,
reduced delays and failures by a third and saved around £33million
pounds over the lifespan of the contract.
Despite these major problems, Merseyrail is regularly the best
performing train-operating company in the country. |
