Following South Holland District Council’s announcement on free car parking to support town centre businesses and market stall traders yesterday, leaders are set to announce further support packages and initiatives in the coming days.
As well as making short-stay car parks in Spalding town centre free until the end of September, the Council has also pledged its support by:
– Extending offer to traders of free market pitches across the District until October
– Consultation on future initiatives for the market, including new user friendly booking and support for new traders and micro-businesses to try a stall
– Opening the South Holland Centre in late July for a summer programme of films
– A programme of live entertainment and events in the town centre, including on market days
– Extending opening days of public toilets in Spalding and further investment in facilities across the District
– Additional resource for the cleaning and maintenance of town centres and high streets
– Working with Boston College to help businesses, traders and residents with their digital skills.
These initiatives are hoped to encourage shoppers to the town, following a challenging 15 months of Government national restrictions.
Since the first national restrictions in March 2020, the Council has administered almost £30million of Government financial assistance to around 2,000 businesses across South Holland.
In addition to this, the Council has received £86,000 as part of the Government’s Welcome Back Fund, as well as investing £500,000 of local taxpayers’ money into town centre improvements, as was announced in the 2019-20 council budget.
Council Leader Gary Porter said: “In the last few months we have already started to see businesses choosing to invest in our town centres and more traders joining our weekly markets.
“We recognise the hardship and financial uncertainty that many of our businesses have felt over the past year. As well as the support we have given through the distribution of Government grants, we now want to ensure we do everything we can to support businesses by encouraging shoppers back to our town centres and high streets.
“These new initiatives are part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that our town centres are a safe, clean and relevant place to work, shop and visit. We hope that it will encourage people to explore the shops, pubs, restaurants and leisure activities on offer this summer, whilst we continue on the road to recovery following the pandemic.”
In the coming days the Council will be announcing more details on the initiatives to help support town centre businesses and market traders. For more details keep an eye on the Council’s social media channels, @SHollandDC on Twitter and SHDC_official on Facebook.
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