Here are some of the key business measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Budget. An extension of the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme to September 2021 across the UK. £5 billion for new Restart Grants – a one off cash grant of up to £18,000 for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses…

The first stage of major improvements to the Lansdowne area will commence on 15 March 2021. This initial phase will require Holdenhurst Road, between Lansdowne Roundabout and Station Roundabout, to be closed to vehicles for approximately 12 weeks. A diversion will be in place via St Swithun’s Road and Christchurch Road. Access for people walking…

The government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’, setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England. The four tests which must be met before we can move through each step of the COVID-19 roadmap. Decisions at each step will be made on the latest data and the government will be…

A £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund has been launched to help small businesses adjust to new customs procedures, rules of origin and VAT rules when trading with the EU. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who trade internationally with the EU only, and are therefore new to importing and exporting processes, can apply for grants…

Since the end of the Brexit transition period, ATCM (Association of Town & City Management), of which the BID is a member, has been in active dialogue with the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, discussing the challenges and support needed for businesses in town and city centres. ATCM is seeking to…

Fast track pavement licence to drive forward cafe culture bounce back Local cafes, restaurants, bars and many more high street businesses are being encouraged to apply for a fast track pavement licence as part of the council’s plans to turbo charge an economic bounce back.   Ahead of any changes to government guidance BCP Council has…

The lockdowns have exposed and accelerated the vulnerability of high street and town centre retail to the advantage of online sales. Whilst market competition is a positive for our economy, high street retailers should not have to pay such high levels of business rates which put online retail at an unfair advantage. Bournemouth Town Centre…

A group of Trade Associations including British BIDs and ATCM (Association of Town and City Management) have written to the Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, to urge him to reconsider the proposed plans to extend Permitted Development Rights. Extending Permitted Development Rights would mean that shops, restaurants and gyms could be converted to housing without…

Census 2021 is coming and will offer useful insights for businesses Households across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will soon be asked to take part in Census 2021. The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out…

Our AGM, which was due to take place this week, has unfortunately had to be postponed. It will now take place on 10 March 2021. If anyone has any questions or wishes to attend, please let us know on info@towncentrebid.co.uk.…

The Wonky Table, an organisation representing hospitality businesses across the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation, is calling for an extension to the temporary 5% reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality sector. It is currently planned to end on 31 March 2021. The Wonky Table has created a petition for the 5% VAT to be…

Our Engage newsletter would usually be hitting doorsteps at this time of year, but we have delayed sending it out to you until lockdown is lifted. However, we still want to keep you updated with the work the BID has been doing over the last year, so we have made it available online as a…

Following the announcement of a full lockdown, and the tighter restrictions on businesses, we thought it would be helpful to highlight all the different avenues of support available for businesses at the current time, along with links to the relevant guidance. This includes the Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP) of up to £9K recently announced:…

Businesses and venues which must close To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The list of businesses required to close includes: non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and…

The Annual General Meeting of the Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) will take place on Wednesday 10 February 2021. Due to the lockdown, this will now be held remotely, so if you are a Bournemouth Town Centre BID levy payer and would like to attend, please let us know on info@towncentrebid.co.uk and we…

The transition period has ended and new rules are here. Act now to keep your business moving. The transition period has ended and the UK has left the EU customs union and single market and now enjoys a zero tariffs, zero quotas relationship with the EU as an independent trading nation. Following the signing of…

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our town centre businesses a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. The BID office will be open as usual until 18 December. The office will be closed over the festive period and will reopen on 4 January. Our Rangers and Rapid Response Cleaner…

Look out for a series of Christmas video messages from business leaders around the town on the Bournemouth Echo Facebook page. The videos form part of our latest Support Local campaign, and feature a variety of business owners giving out positive messages and encouraging people to come to town over Christmas.        …

Here at Bournemouth Town Centre BID, we have been driving sales of our Bournemouth Town Centre Gift Card ahead of Christmas. We’re determined to keep spend within our local business community, and every penny from every card bought is locked into the Town Centre BID area and goes directly to town centre businesses. We have…

We are extending our Support Local campaign with the Bournemouth Echo through the run up to Christmas, but this time we are focussing on the hospitality and night time economy sectors, as they are the worst affected by the tier system. Look out for a launch piece in the Echo on Saturday, followed by four…

VISITORS to Bournemouth town centre in the run up to Christmas can take advantage of newly reduced parking deals with NCP using their contactless app and can also pre-book. The company, working in partnership with the Bournemouth Town Centre BID, has launched the new prices, only available via the NCP ParkPass App or Pre-book, allowing…