Support Ulverston's shops - spend a 'Tenner' (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Support Ulverston's shops - spend a 'Tenner'

10:10am Thursday 26th May 2011 in News By Daniel Orr, Reporter

GREAT IDEA: Rachel Weaver shows off the vouchers Buy this photo »

A town is doing its best to fight the recession by launching a scheme to encourage locals to buy local.

The Ulverston Tenner is a voucher that can be used in more than 40 participating shops ranging from clothing stores to chip shops and butchers.

It is the brainchild of local entrepreneurs Kay Hebbourn and Suzanne Edgley who wanted to combat the impact of the current economic climate.

Mrs Hebbourn, who runs the website Go Ulverston, said: “We both do a lot of work locally with business and a lot of them have been struggling through the recession.

“We feel that one of the things exacerbating that is online shopping so we wanted to find a way to keep money in the town and remind people what is on their doorstep.”

The idea was based on the Lewes Pound, a voucher scheme which has been a great success in the East Sussex town.

The Lewes Pound was inspired by complementary currencies which have existed since the beginning of civilisation, such as the bead money of Papua New Guinea, which still exists.

Mrs Hebbourn added: “There has been an overwhelming response from local businesses who are keen to support the scheme.

"Ulverston is a similar town to Lewes so we thought this was a fairly safe bet.”

Rachael Weaver, manager at Two by Two, in Market Street, said: “It’s an absolutely fantastic scheme and it’s encouraging people to shop locally which is something we all want as retailers.

"Already there is a sense of excitement in the town and a real buzz about it.

"It is a perfect present to give to someone and does not restrict that person to one shop.”

To get your Ulverston Tenner, call Kay Hebbourn on 01229 588414 or 07545 211170, or email kay@goulverston.co.uk.