Proposals to launch a new loyalty shopping card scheme in Burnham-On-Sea have this week been scrapped by its organisers.
Burnham-On-Sea.com first revealed the proposals last month, with hopes high that the card, pictured above, could earn money for Burnham Hospital from subscriptions while also boosting trade in town centre shops.
However, traders gave a cautious welcome to the scheme, saying they do not earn high enough profit margins to offer reductions to shoppers. There were also concerns about data protection, and questions raised about whether NHS funding should be raised in this way.
The committee from The Friends of Burnham-On-Sea War Memorial Hospital debated the scheme and told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Monday (November 2nd) that they had decided to abandon the plans.
Tony Deahl, Chairman of the Hospital Friends, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are really disappointed as we felt the scheme which we proposed had the potential to provide real benefits for the people of Burnham, local traders and our hospital.”
“We explained the benefits of the scheme to traders in the same week when it was reported that similar schemes introduced in market towns in other parts of the country had resulted in an increase in trade of as much as 30 per cent.”
“As we were informed that a loyalty card scheme had been investigated and rejected by the Chamber of Trade in the recent past we felt that there was little point in pursuing our ideas.”
“To be successful, such a scheme would need to have the active support of the majority of traders. This was not forthcoming.”
“However, we are still keen to increase the number of Hospital Friends and would encourage those who value their local hospital to become members at an annual cost of £5 by contacting the Membership Secretary via the Hospital in Love Lane or by calling 01278 783121.”
“The newly refurbished Out-Patients’ Department and Women’s Ward have just been opened in the first phase of a four-phase £740,000 project, jointly funded by the Hospital Friends and Somerset Health. We are proud that we have been able to be able to work with the Trust to improve our local hospital to benefit local people.”
