THE Knutsford-based Forum of Private Business has praised the ‘overwhelming’ response to this year’s Small Business Saturday event.

Small Business Saturday UK is a campaign which encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities.

In support of the campaign, the forum wrote to all local authorities to ask them to consider removing parking charges during the nation-wide event on December 6.

The aim was to provide an added incentive to shoppers to hit the high street on the first shopping weekend in the run up to Christmas.

Cheshire East Council was one of the authorities who agreed to scrap the charges – and extended the waiver for the next two Saturdays.

John Walding, from the Forum of Private Business, said: “Last year, the call to shop local saw over £460 million spent on Small Business Saturday. The response this year has been overwhelming and all indications are that even more money was spent in high street independents up and down the country in the first weekend of that all-important run up to Christmas.

“The Forum has been a strong supporter of Small Business Saturday. We are delighted that over 60 local authorities, including Cheshire East Council, answered our call to waive parking charges as an added incentive to entice shoppers to shop small and support their local high street heroes.”