Kirkby's 'In shops' is an indoor Market situated in former supermarket premises built in the 70's. The complex is owned by an Out of Town firm and stall holders genuinely struggle to make ends meet and pay the rent. The 30% increase has led to some already pulling out as the rent is already high for what are tiny areas with poor conditions for the workers.

There have been many stalls which have 'gone under' at the 'In shops' Some former stall holders informed Kirkby Times that often they could not afford to even pay the rent out of profits, many stalls are actually set up by local people, the rent includes all your electric and water bills etc but is still extortinate. With a 30% increase it is simply taking extortion to a new level. It is a slap in the face for decent hard working people who have to sit inside a pretty poorly designed stuffy old building, done up to cram as many stalls as possible next to each other.

Many of the stalls are set up with little or no Help with financial backing. Yet a massive Multinational firm like Sonae can wangle over a million quid to settle them in to there factory.Other local Businesses seem to be funded to the hilt,depends whether you know anyone in local politics. Some of the stall holders sit in there little 10 foot by 10 foot area for 8 hours a day and its only after a few months that they pack in, many having ploughed there own money into some Sharks pocket. The Firm running the In shops must be milking it in, we will report on exactly who they are, reports so far suggest a company from the Midlands. Knowsley Council could have taken over the In shops Building, but they are in a privatisation mode and as such are Happy for any old cowboy to own bits and pieces of Kirkby, and then hire it back to us for a fat profit.

Knowsley Council Plans to Wipe out Small businesses?

For Years, many of us here in Kirkby have suspected that the area by the Town Center pictured below, would be sold off to a Major Supermarket. In the 70's, we had Two such Supermarkets built, the In shops occupies one of those Buildings, and the other, formerly the Asda supermarket, has lain empty for about 15 years!. The Former labour Club(Clovers, Touch of Class,etc etc) , which was burnt in mysterious circumstances, is currently being used as an illegal car park.

Local Shops are Best

Since the 70's, the small local shop has taken a battering as the big boys like Marks and Spencer's or Asda bully there way into building one of their big Hyper-markets in every town they can.Where small local businesses may get supplies locally, the big firms can buy at the drop of an hat any product anywhere in the World. No matter if there's a famine wiping out half of Africa, Marks and Sparks will find some exotic fruit to export.Our own native Fruits and vegetables are being lost forever as everyone grows the same uniform product.

A Bad Diet is a Recipe For Disaster.

Since the supermarkets invaded here we rarely see a properly cooked well prepared meal with fresh ingredients. There is also the disgraceful manipulation of our food by mad scientists who are introducing Genetically Altered food into our diet. The major Super markets are all behind a sinister and disturbing trend of producing food and drink with dangerous levels of toxins and chemicals. Fresh food does not need preserving in a cocktail of crap. The Farms too(many local) douse the food they grow and animals they raise in all sorts of nasty chemicals. This is done, in the case of vegetables and fruit because the supermarkets don't buy products with obvious insect damage. The farmers, always prepared to risk our health for a fast buck, are generally prepared to poison us. Mad Cow disease was caused by the GREED of Farmers who went against nature itself by feeding dead cows to live cows.If you look at your main meal today, odds are there no local ingredients in there. If local or nearby Farms supply local Towns, the advantages are numerous. In the case of Animals, the treatment is more humane as they are not shunted for days on wagons to Europe. Local Farmers could easily be held accountable by the local Community as local green campaigners would be able to concentrate on individual farmers, not some massive faceless corporation.By creating a World Market, these corporations are able to hide their tracks as campaigners come up against a web like tangle of corporate evasion on a grand scale.

And back to the In Shops............

Kirkby Times will report more on this issue and bring you some comments from the traders themselves and what they think of the 30% rise. The issue is important as we all use the stalls there and would not be happy were more stalls to be forced out because of the greed of the present owners. We wish the traders all the best in whatever plans they now have.