AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 27th August 2008 New rules 'won't help save Manchester retail centre' New planning rules designed to try to protect city-centre shopping facilities might come too late to save retailers in the constituency of communities secretary Hazel Blears. The Crains Manchester Business website has reported that Eccles Shopping Centre - which will be located in the constituency of communities secretary Hazel Blears after political boundaries are redrawn in the next year - has been hit since the opening of the Trafford Centre and the West One Retail Park. Despite recent pledges that planning laws would favour central developments over out-of-town projects, local traders are worried that these will not help. One local shop owner, Dave Hebden, explained that people tended to drive to the Trafford Centre and the West One Retail Park as they can park for free. "Eccles is struggling and it's hard to say what can improve it, but it would need to be something big and it would be good to have the support of Hazel Blear," he told the site. "But who's going to want to open in Eccles when there is so much competition from the Trafford Centre?" A spokesperson from Threadneedle, the company that owns the shopping centre, added: "We are working with the local authority on plans for a substantial development and regeneration programme which will be made financially viable by the arrival of a major new retailer to the improved site."     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Pioneer TV Brackets     Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.