OUR CHANGING VILLAGE

Dear Editor,

Whilst reading the 68th edition of the Echo of December 1989 I came across a list of the shops and other retail business premises in Evington village.

They included: Bennett's, Fabio's (hairdresser), the Post Office, the Cedars, Evington Motor Cycles, Farm & Garden Shop, Graham Goode, Evington Cellars, Forbuoys Newsagents, Peter Ladkin, Evington Dry Cleaners and Launderers, Le Gourmet, Shirley Smith and Linden's Hairdressers and branches of the NatWest Bank and the Alliance and Leicester Building Society.

Now there are no banks and only Bennett's, Fabio's, the Post Office, the Cedars and Evington Dry Cleaners remain. (Forbuoys has changed its name to McColls.)

I note that there were no fast-food shops in 1989 whereas there are four now and there were 2 banks and a cash machine which did not charge for withdrawals.

This reflects changing eating habits and the use of labour saving facilities, internet banking for example, which reduces the requirement for bank branches. Nowadays there is only the Post Office that has limited facilities for banking transactions.

Whether these changes are for the good of customers is up for debate.

What do readers of the Echo think? Please write in with your views.

Mike Stevens