Welsh Journals

detail, however, it is necessary to examine the nature of the problem and to consider the various strategies available for dealing with it. THE RETAIL PROBLEM IN MID WALES The demise of the Census of Distribution has made it extremely difficult to measure precisely the extent of the village shop problem, and no statistics on shop numbers in Mid Wales are readily available. Various local authorities in the area recognised, in their Structure Plans, that a problem exists, but most were unable to quantify its extent. In Dyfed, neither the Report of Survey nor the Draft Written Statement (Griffiths 1978a and b) make any reference to the problem, commenting only on the fact that "in the rural areas the sub-post offices located in some of the small settlements are becoming less economically viable and closing" (Griffiths 1978b). Specific information is available, however, in Gwynedd, for in 1980 the County Council reported that between 1969 and 1979 shop closures in rural Gwynedd were in the order of 19 and that by 1979, 47 of the 464 village settlements in the area had no shop (Gwynedd County Council 1980). Since these figures correspond very closely to those for other parts of Britain (Shaw 1982) it is felt that they are representative of the nature and scale of the problem throughout Mid Wales. Clearly, if this is the case, the closure of the village shop has important ramifications for the future of settlements. From a survey conducted in 12 locations throughout Mid Wales in May, 1981, it would seem that, on average, village consumers would have to travel 5.5 miles to a neighbouring town if their village shop were to close (Appendix 2). Such a situation poses particular problems for the immobile sectors of rural society, especially the aged, infirm and poor those without private transport, the resources to buy in bulk or the appropriate facilities for the storage of 'everyday' goods in the home. These consumers, although a minority, are heavily dependent on the local shop and for them, its closure causes considerable hardship. At the same time, however, it must be recognised that the local shop performs a secondary function in the distributive system, being used by the majority of consumers for 'topping up' purchases, in 'emergencies' and for the purchase of 'forgotten' or 'out-of-stock' items. For these consumer segments (the majority of rural consumers), the loss of the village shop is an inconvenience. Fortunately, as Table 1 reveals, the former group is a small minority in Mid Wales, "but this minority is most vulnerable and unable to take compensatory measures" (Joseph 1977 p. 107). At the same time, it must be recognised that the village shop performs a social as well as an economic function. Quite frequently it is one of the main foci of community life