SATURDAY morning, battling through the growing Christmas crowds and windy weather to get our veg from the market. Barney the beagle is particularly excited – a combination of the blustery wind and anticipation.

He’s learned that if he looks appealing and neglected, the stall holder will give him a carrot. A very successful marketing ploy – keeps us coming back. Now if I can pull the same trick off at the butcher’s and the deli, I may not need to feed him at all at the weekend… As I fought my way round the city, I was struck once again by our large (and growing) number of charity shops. Charity retail is big business.

Throughout the country it generates over £300m of profit each year, run by a handful of paid staff and an army of 218,000 volunteers: twice as many as in our regular army!

Not universally welcomed however, it has to be said. Shoppers complain about the loss of choice on the high street as independent stores close and charity shops move in. Traders complain about unfair competition, citing rate discounts and the sale of bought in goods.

On the other hand, charity shops help the environment, reducing CO2 emissions by over 3.7m tonnes per annum by selling recycled goods. And many (like local charities Trussell Trust and Alabaré) provide work experience and employment for those wanting to get back into work. Various reports have said that it’s shoppers, rather than charities, that are responsible for the changing face of the high street as we move to online shopping and out of town superstores.

In fact, far from blighting a high street, charity shops are often able to breathe new life into it – reopening closed stores, providing a new home for unwanted and recycled goods and offering fabulous deals to those on limited incomes, struggling to make ends meet or who have an eye for a bargain!

Salisbury now has a fabulous array: some offering the traditional mixture of clothes, household goods and bric a brac; others, more specialised – upmarket women’s clothing, a children’s store, a book shop and at least two furniture stores. There’s an ‘out of town charity superstore’, the Alabaré Emporium, on Churchfields and even a garden centre up by the Old Sarum Park and Ride!

And if it’s causes you want to support, well, they cover the spectrum: from big national brands like Oxfam, Barnardo’s and The Red Cross to local causes, our hospice, Alabaré, Trussell Trust; from health, like Cancer Research, to animals at the Dogs Trust.

Salisbury traders work hard to put the city on the regional map with initiatives like the Christmas Market that entice visitors to leave The Close and into the town. Maybe we could find a way to celebrate the innovation, variety and social benefit that our charity shops bring and attract even more people back to the high street.