Love our shops

We have had an interesting letter from Christopher Beeton, a long standing local resident.

He comments; “When I first visited Milford in 1948/49 there were about the same number of high street shops as we have now but, of course, Milford was then only a small village.  By 1984, when I moved here on retirement, there was a very wide range of shops with at least two of each of the essential ones but, by then, we had become a small town. Even Keyhaven had its Post Office & shop.

In the 1990s when I was a NFDC councillor, considerable concerns were expressed about the plans for the (then) new Tesco in Caird Avenue and, in particular, how it would affect high street shops in nearby villages.  Our own shops were already dwindling and, in a letter to the Lymington Times, I suggested to those Milford residents who used our shops only in emergency, that they make a point of buying at least something in the village every week. With some 6000 residents even if only half did this, most of our shops should remain viable.  With the increase of ladies' hairdressers and commercial businesses, the loss of a baker or greengrocer is not, at first, so noticeable.  But we cannot afford to lose many more if we are to retain any character at all.”

Who can argue with that.  Christopher goes on to suggest; “Since the demise of Milford's Traders Association there does not appear to be much co-ordination and this is likely to increase pressure on some of our smaller, but very useful, shops.  How about a series of short articles on each of our shops (in addition to eating places of course!).”

Writing an article on each shop would be a bit of a ‘Forth Road’ job, however we would love any of our shops to write a comment about what they offer for all to see.  Alternatively, if you have anything to say about any of the great things you can get in the village, why not post a comment below to give them a plug?

PS: That reminds me, if you want a plug, (or anything DIY for that matter), Milford Hardware is your place to go!