A DRIVE by customers to get more people using their independent shops in Tavistock will take a leap forward with the forthcoming launch of the Totally Locally campaign.

Spearheaded by busy parents dissatisfied with spending all their weekly shopping budget in the supermarkets, Tavistock will join 15 other towns across the country who have signed up for a free branding kit and promotion through the website http://www.totally-locally.co.uk">www.totally-locally.co.uk

The campaign, which had 30 high street shops signing up in one day, will focus on celebrating and promoting the best of what Tavistock has to offer and will be launched in July.

Rachel Harrison French, instigator of the Tavistock Buy Local Facebook group which now has 280 members sharing information on shopping, said if the whole population of Tavistock spent £5 a week locally it would generate £2.9-million into the economy every year.

She said:?'We are also looking at a Fiver Feast where local shops offer something for £5 — it could be breakfast and coffee to gifts and meat. Shop windows will carry posters and displays and all the promotions will be on the website.

'The campaign also involves shops advertising each other. Instead of each shop thinking about itself it is about the whole town working together.'

Rachel said she had not been in a supermarket since she started the group. Like Lisa Wadling, who has been featured in recent Times articles about shopping locally, she has been able to buy all her food shopping in town.

'I have three children, I work, I do a lot of volunteering and I am on a budget. If I can do my weekly shop in the town anybody can.

'I know how hard it is to feed a family on a budget and I have very little time but I have managed it. What's more what I am getting for my money is by far better quality and I am supporting the community at the same time.'

Rachel said she was passionate about local food. Her mother ran one of the first organic restaurants in the UK in the 1980s: 'I was beginning to feel very dissatisfied with spending all my weekly shopping budget in one one hour in the supermarket. I don't have anything against supermarkets but just felt I could get something better.'

Rachel said by taking the time to find out what was on offer in the town she had discovered some shops delivered, had loyalty schemes and some opened from 7.30am.

'When you go into an independent shop, the shopkeeper is interested in you, not because of how much you might spend because it may only be 50p but because you are supporting them. They listen to what you have to say and your shopping needs. It is a much more pleasurable experience.

'I have no opinion about what is happening with the supermarkets in Tavistock at the moment and I am not asking people to abandon the supermarkets but this campaign is about making people more aware of where they are spending their money and the value they can get for it.'

She added that it was after the late night Christmas shopping event in Tavistock that she decided to change her shopping habits: 'I realised how much trouble all the shops had gone to to make this a great event for the community with face painting, fairground and lights.

'I was touched that they would do this for my family and I wanted to give something back.

'BID has been really supportive and the Enterprise Hub has offered us a free room for our meetings and teas and coffees. Tavistock is a fantastic place to live and I want everyone to share the enthusiasm for what is great about this town. The quality of life and the quality of shops is second to none.'

Anyone who is not on Facebook or Twitter but would like to add their support to the Totally Locally campaign can contact Rachel on 07880 870239.