SPEND, SPEND, SPEND

SHOPPERS in Dorset and Hampshire have been urged to spend, spend, spend in the run-up to Christmas following the 2.5 per cent cut in VAT.

Local retailers hope the tax cut, combined with a host of special offers in the shops, could give them a much-needed boost in the remaining month before Christmas.

Nigel Hedges, president of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: “We back any move that encourages people to come here and embark on a spending spree.

“With Christmas just round the corner, the timing couldn’t be better and we hope the VAT cut coincides with some really good offers in the shops.”

In his pre-budget report, Chancellor Alistair Darling reduced VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent for 13 months from Monday.

Mr Darling warned that Britain would officially enter recession next year but said it would be “longer and deeper” without the latest bid to kick-start the economy.

Jeff Allen, chairman of the Poole and District Chamber of Trade, said his members had told him times were tough.

He said: “Anything that helps to bring some business in is welcome. 2.5 per cent is not a huge amount, but it all helps.”

Steven Connolly, centre director at the Dolphin Centre, Poole, said retailers had reported an upturn in the last few weeks, boosted by the early sales, particularly the Marks and Spencer one-day, 20-per-cent-off sale.

“The VAT cut can only support this and encourage more people to come to the shops,” he added.

But Peter Matthews, centre manager at Bournemouth’s Castlepoint, was unimpressed by the move. He said: “As a retailer 2.5 per cent isn’t a big discount. I don’t think it will turn the nation into shopaholics.”

He said the increase in petrol and rises in utility prices during the summer had put a strain on the purse strings.

“I think it is difficult for some people to make ends meet. They are perhaps being a bit more careful,” he said.

Castlepoint saw two per cent more cars last week than during the same week the previous year and the M&S one-day sale made for the fifth largest day since the centre opened. Mr Matthews said: “That’s positive for us and I think it is due to free parking. It’s not all doom and gloom.”

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