Shopping local has never been more important.

With the festive season coming up our high street stores have never needed your support more.

Nub News is a big supporter of local businesses, highlighting offers on your high street, as well as showcasing Hitchin companies, groups, organisations and charities.

So, here's our brilliant town centre manager Tom Hardy as he shares his take on why it is so important to shop local and support Hitchin's brilliant independent businesses

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I remember so clearly walking into the Market Place a week into the first lockdown and you could hear a pin drop in the town centre.

All businesses had closed, everybody was staying at home and the only person standing in that square was myself and a family of pheasants!

We're now nearly a week into the second lockdown and the town centre has a very different feel to it.

With schools, takeaways, click and collect, estate agents and anyone 'not able to work from home' staying open and operating, the public seem to have taken a very lax view on the measures.

This week I walked through the town to see the streets full of people taking the opportunity to use the 'essential' shops that remain open to purchase 'non-essential' goods.

It's painful to see so many of our retailers who rely on November and December to survive the quieter months in the new year, forced to close.

I then read in the press this week that the government forecast (the main reason for opting for this lockdown) was a 'mistake'.

It is not only a huge financial blow for our town centre, but this 'mistake' may force a large number of our much-loved businesses to close permanently.

I really hope that the residents and user of Hitchin town centre will step up on December 2, come out, and support our town centre this Christmas.

Hitchin BID is working hard to keep up the momentum of the town centre offer through our social media campaign, interactive shopping map, video compilation, voucher scheme and our Christmas Market which starts on 2nd December.