{"id":3127,"date":"2013-11-28T17:08:02","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T17:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ballymenachamber.co.uk\/?p=3127"},"modified":"2013-11-28T17:09:38","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T17:09:38","slug":"ballymena-fights-back-against-empty-town-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/?p=3127","title":{"rendered":"Ballymena fights back against \u2018empty town\u2019 claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ballymena Borough Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges support for Small Business Saturday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ballymena Borough Chamber of Commerce and Industry is this week launching a fight back against claims that the town is empty by urging residents and visitors to come out and see for themselves the vibrant network of local businesses the town has to offer.<\/p>\n

Joining forces with local media, Ballymena Borough Council and Ballymena Town Centre Development Ltd (BTCD) the Chamber has launched \u2018Small Business Saturday\u2019 which will take place on Saturday 7th December.<\/p>\n

The initiative, created in America in 2010, encourages people to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities and has the full backing of politicians and local businesses in the town who see its potential to lift the local economy and make it a day to remember.<\/p>\n

Rodney Kernohan, speaking on behalf of the Ballymena Borough Chamber of Commerce and Industry explained, \u201cLast year\u2019s US \u2018Small Business Saturday\u2019 initiative created an amazing \u00a33.5 billion in sales to small businesses and led to an increase in long-term custom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are not expecting to spend that much in the Ballymena area but I believe this is a great opportunity for all of us to support our local small businesses and our town centre. Contrary to recent reports a quarter of our shops are not empty.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes we\u2019ve had our difficulties like any other town centre but with several new shops opening recently and more in the pipeline we believe that Christmas 2013 and 2014 will see major change.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn early November we had our superb 20% day off which saw people from as far away as Donegal and Scotland visit and check out our fabulous retailers. The pavements were full and more importantly they spent money with some retailers claiming they took as much as two weeks income in one day.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say to anyone don\u2019t let the national media put you off coming to Ballymena, we\u2019ve something for everyone and you\u2019ll not necessarily find it in any other town or city in Northern Ireland!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chamber President Thomas McKillen and Mayor Audrey Wales MBE with independent retailers at the launch of Small Business Saturday<\/h6>\n

In addition to Small Business Saturday Ballymena will have it\u2019s first \u2018Christmas Food and Crafts Market\u2019 which will be held at Wellington Court on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th December.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve so many independent retailers that really add that special something from Camerons to McKillens, and Wallaces to The Gift Box, we\u2019ve even some of the greatest restaurants that NI has to offer. These are all small and local businesses and make us a great shopping town.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m delighted to say that our local media, the Ballymena Guardian and the Ballymena Times, along with Ballymena Borough Council and Ballymena Town Centre Development Ltd (BTCD) are fully behind this campaign and after the recent negative national media coverage it\u2019s time that each and everyone of us made a small difference by shopping locally.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Local Mayor Cllr Audrey Wales MBE said, \u201cI\u2019m exceptionally proud of Ballymena and as an ex-retailer I believe that we\u2019ve a great town with great shops. Recently I awarded over 60 business owners and employee certificates for completing World Host Customer Service training so a great customer experience welcomes you too.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d appeal to those who are thinking about choosing to shop elsewhere please don\u2019t! Yes I\u2019m biased about this town of my mine but don\u2019t just take my word for it or that of the media\u2019s for that matter, come and see for yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Rodney Kernohan concluded, \u201cCome and experience the variety and fine quality produce of a family butcher or the small local shop offering locally made candles and crafts. Come to some of our independent stores that offer you many hours pondering over your Christmas gifts.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTake the time to meet up with friends and family for coffee, lunch or a glass of wine. Shop for shoes or that new handbag who knows, you might even pick-up a bargain.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are encouraging all kinds of small businesses in the Borough to get involved; encouraging Ballymena\u2019s local residents and beyond to step away from on-line shopping, out-of-town shopping complexes and come and experience the great atmosphere that Ballymena town centre has to offer.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBy doing this, you and your family continue to support and sustain small businesses in your Borough\u2019s town & villages.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For more information about Small Business Saturday please visit www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ballymena Borough Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges support for Small Business Saturday.\u00a0 Ballymena Borough Chamber of Commerce and Industry is this week launching a fight back against claims that the town is empty by urging residents and visitors to come out and see for themselves the vibrant network of local businesses the town has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40,36,48,21,39,12],"class_list":["post-3127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-business-initiative","tag-events","tag-latest-news","tag-local-economy","tag-new-initiative","tag-recent-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3127"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3133,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127\/revisions\/3133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballymenachamber.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}