Sir,
I am writing in response to a letter which appeared in your newspaper on Friday, July 9.
I find it hilarious that Mr. Wilson believes that John Williams, of Costcutter, and Mr. Sam Palmer, of Spar, Narberth, are international businessmen, as per Wikepedia (which is well known for its erroneous content).
Mr. Williams and his family have been in business for many generations in Narberth and have supported the local community for as many years. Tell me if you dare, Mr. Wilson, that old Jack Williams was not a local small businessman when he opened up his shop on the High Street all those years ago. Were you too young to notice or have you only recently moved into the area and couldn't care less?.
Mr. Palmer and his family have been in business in Narberth for at least 16 years to my knowledge. Both men are local people and employ local people. They spend their money locally and benefit the local community through sponsorship and patronage.
The businesses are not supermarkets per se; they being under 3,000 square feet of retail space.
Spar is a big organisation, but, many businesses like the one in Narberth are independently owned and operated. Costcutter is a smaller organisation compared to Spar, but, again, is in the main independently owned and operated. The names are 'labels' under which people can run their businesses. For many, this is the only way they can compete against the big supermarkets and retain a local flavour to their business.
OK, so delivery lorries are an issue to many people. So why not ban them altogether? Narberth will grind to a halt. Businesses will close down and people will lose their jobs. There will be empty shop fronts in town and landlords will lose money on rental income. The council will lose money on rates etc. etc. and prices to local consumers will rise. They will have to travel to Haverfordwest, Pembroke or Carmarthen to do their shopping, at increased cost to themselves.
The fact is that, although there is some inconvenience, the town rarely comes to a halt. Problems are caused by inconsiderate or incompetent 'parkers'; people who either can't or won't park their cars properly on the High Street.
As far as local produce goes, I challenge Mr. Wilson to go into both shops and discover the range of local produce on offer. One example is honey from Pleasant Valley when available. Bethesda meat and milk are others; local bread and eggs are also on offer.
The Co-op will not sell these products and they are not available in any of the other local shops in Kilgetty, Whitland or St Clears. If you call shrink wrapped produce, 'fresh' Mr Wilson, then you are mistaken.
I travel all over West Wales in my job as a sales representative and I can tell you that there are many towns that are in awe of the success of Narberth. We are not perfect here, but we do have the right recipe. What's not to like about that?
Robert Traylor,
Cold Blow,
Narberth.