Win £100 to spend locally – Shop, Snap, Share, Win to support Forest towns

Running now until 14 December, the competition forms part of a new Shop Local campaign. Forest of Dean District Council has joined forces with the town councils of Cinderford, Coleford, Lydney and Newent, along with local businesses, to launch the initiative ahead of the busiest shopping period of the year.

Cabinet Member for Economy, Cllr Johnathan Lane said:

“Through our Shop Local campaign and competition, we want to encourage more people to rediscover their local high streets.

“Recent town centre monitoring shows that footfall across all our Forest towns has held relatively steady over the past three years, with only a slight decrease of around 1% in 2024-25. However, numbers have not returned to pre-Covid levels - a trend we recognise as part of changing shopping habits and the continued rise of online retail – and we remain committed to finding new ways to encourage residents and visitors back into our town centres.

“If every adult in the Forest of Dean spent just £5 a week in local shops instead of online or at large supermarkets, it would add over £9 million to our local economy. That’s money that supports jobs, keeps our towns vibrant, and helps create a stronger, more sustainable community.”

To take part in the Shop Local competition, residents simply need to:

1. Take a photo or video of themselves and/or their purchases in a local shop.
2. Write a few words about why shopping local matters to them or why they love their chosen shop.
3. Share on Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag for their town (or if shopping somewhere outside of one of the main towns, use the general hashtag and/or the one for the nearest town.

#ShopLocalSmallBizCinderford

#ShopLocalSmallBizColeford

#ShopLocalSmallBizLydney

#ShopLocalSmallBizNewent

#ShopLocalForestOfDean

Each of the four towns has a £100 Shop Local voucher as first prize, redeemable in local shops of the winner’s choice, along with second prizes of £50 and third prizes of £25.

As part of the campaign, new printed directories have been produced, which are also available in digital format via the Forest of Dean District Council website. The directories feature detailed maps of local high streets, designed to help both residents and visitors easily locate and support local businesses.

Printed copies have been distributed to shops and businesses across the district and will also be available in town centres on Small Business Saturday – which coincides this year with each town’s Christmas light switch-on events on Saturday 29 November.

Competition terms and conditions and the new town maps are available on the Forest of Dean District Council website at www.fdean.gov.uk/shoplocal 

Funding for the Shop Local campaign comes from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.