Berwick Thought for the Week: Suggestions to help Berwick's high street

Berwick’s high street threatens to become a ghost town just as The Twenty Minute Towns movement gets underway across the world.

This movement aims that residents can meet their needs for food, health, religion and basic services within a 20 minute walk, thus reducing carbon emissions and helping us build better neighbourhoods and a sustainable future.

A friend of mine met with our MP and the chair of our county council to try and address Berwick’s plight. They advised me to work with our town council. What can be done? Here are four suggestions:

1. A Civic Society speaker two years ago said there was an intention to erect a sign at the rail station depicting Berwick town centre with an arrow saying ‘this way’. Please action this now.

2. Residents have written to the Co-op asking it to restore its store to Berwick high street now that there is no supermarket that locals can walk to. I will write too. Why don’t you?

3. Why not hold Saturday activities from March to October in the high street of dancing, sports, choirs, bands, craft markets etc?

4. If the Freemen of Berwick embrace ethical capitalism it could transform our town. Ethical capitalism invests income for the profit (i.e. well-being) of neighbourhoods and the environment as well as of shareholders. Capitalism where money is god is doomed. So this is a plea to the Freemen: embrace ethical capitalism and offer discounts on high street properties for innovative pioneers.

Why don’t you send further suggestions to the local Berwick Advertiser newspaper or to the town council?

Revd. Ray Simpson is also an author of 40 books and does YouTube videos, as well as podcasts and blogs.