Chandler’s Ford Needs Better Shops!

Today I would like to talk about … shopping.

On Friday, a new WH Smith opened in Chandler’s Ford, where I live. This added yet more stationery and more newspapers to a stationery and newspaper filled arcade.

I think, in order to be more varied, Chandler’s Ford needs to be more interesting in their choice of shops. Just look at Eastleigh. There is a huge variety of shops there compared with Chandler’s Ford.

In Eastleigh there is a stationery shop called The Works, which also sells some books. There used to be a Waterstone’s bookshop in Eastleigh but it was closed down last month.

In Eastleigh, there are DVD shops, toy shops, charity shops, and a lot more. I know Eastleigh is bigger and it is a town, but I don’t want to take the train to get there (or to Southampton or Winchester) every time I want to buy something.

Let’s look at the benefits of having a bigger variety of shops in Chandler’s Ford…

• More people will come to Chandler’s Ford, not just for the “mainstream” shops but for the history behind it. Maybe a museum of Chandler’s Ford will inspire people to come and explore the place.

• As there are many schools in Chandler’s Ford, such as two secondary schools, many children could come after school and buy books and games, so we need to have some book and entertainment shops.

• It would be good business for smaller companies to set up shops in a smaller and well-established place such as Chandler’s Ford, as opposed to somewhere larger like Winchester. Setting up shops in Chandler’s Ford will mean less competition from bigger companies, and the rent might be cheaper.

My ideal bookshop

So what would my ideal bookshop be? A good bookshop has every kind of book, from comics to travel guides to information books to novels to picture books. That is what the bookshop in Chandler’s Ford should have.

Alternatively, the new WH Smith could provide a book section or I hope there is another bookshop.

So that’s it for my shop ideas. I’m not normally concerned about shopping but recently I have seen a variety of shops in other places during my holiday and I wish my own place Chandler’s Ford (not a town) could provide a varied and fun range of shops.

Editor’s note: The original version of Chandler’s Ford needs better shops! was published on 1st September 2014 in Ben Williams’s World.

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