A MAN who wants to give Evesham a major economic boost in 2013 is hoping his plans for a department store-style venture will go live within the next two months.

The new shop, which would be located in Market Square, is the brainchild of Tony Fisher, who says he wants to do something positive for Evesham.

Mr Fisher is naming the store Life Emporium and it will be the first shop to open under his social enterprise charity Life Trust, standing for Local Initiative For Enterprise.

He hopes that by offering local traders and small businesses retail space at just £10 per square metre, people who cannot afford to rent a shop premises on their own, can still have a base to sell their goods in a prime town centre location.

“We are planning to open the shop in February or March,”

said Mr Fisher. “This is a shop for local traders to take space in the town centre that they wouldn’t be able to afford. I hope it will attract small businesses such as crafts and art people.

“We are going to run it as a department store. There will be room for 30 stands in there for local traders. We already have about a dozen people who are interested and that is just from putting the information on Twitter in the last couple of weeks.”

Mr Fisher also has a number of other business ideas as part of his enterprise scheme, including revamping the derelict ground floor of the town hall, formerly PJ’s bar, and setting up an online shopping service selling products exclusively from Evesham businesses.

“I am hoping to get the café opened in the town hall by spring,” said Mr Fisher. “The online shopping is also still going ahead and I am hoping many of the people from the department store will get involved in that as well.”

For more information on the Local Initiative For Enterprise, call Tony Fisher on 07748 776053 or e-mail info@life-trust.org.