The Purbeck Pound

Day 53

13 July 2009

Swanage is really busy, today, despite the fact that the summer holidays haven't started. It's a Monday lunchtime, and the main streets are buzzing with tourists and locals, all either looking for food, souvenirs, essential beach toys, or a photo opportunity.

Swanage is essentially a tourist town, which is over-populated in the peak season (I've been told that the population increases to over 40,000 from 13,000 from late July to the end of August, although I haven't looked for any official figures).

This serves the accomodation industry very well, as well as the restaurants, cafes, deli, and other food shops. There are two supermarkets in Swanage, which are small but undoubtedly have a massive turnover during the peak months.

This is where things start to bug me a fair bit. Why should the big chains get the biggest slice of the cake? Why can't the local producers and shops get a bigger wedge, to put back into the local community?

Why is it that local producers charge so much more?

Why can't we have more farmers markets in Swanage? There is a market on a Tuesday, but a fair proportion of what is sold is mass-produced, or made in China.

It would be great to strengthen the Purbeck Pound by putting more money into the local foods and goods, instead of paying the big chains and the big execs lining their pockets.

What do other people think?