Love Wimbledon Lobbying For You
‘Unprecedented’ a word now so widely used and very pertinent to the challenging environment currently facing businesses in Wimbledon Town Centre and Love Wimbledon BID is committed to supporting you and our community through these times.
Through our conversations and communications with the businesses of Wimbledon, we are working to mitigate the impact of coronavirus and provide businesses with the information and support you need so we are in a strong position for recovery. The support from central government has been extremely prompt and generous but there are some businesses that are not eligible and we are drawing these issues to their attention.
Love Wimbledon is lobbying central government:
- for London waiting to be applied to the £51k rateable value threshold given the higher rateable values of property in London. This applies to the grants and the business rates support for businesses. We’ve joined the #RaiseTheBar campaign as part of our lobbying efforts.
- with regards to concessions and sub-lets, often the younger and smaller businesses who are currently not eligible as they do not have a direct relationship with business rates
- to define the specific categories of businesses to avoid different interpretations of the guidance between local authorities
- to provide clarity for banks about the CBIL scheme to make it more accessible for businesses
UPDATE: Stephen Hammond MP has raised questions with HM Treasury on the London waiting and expansion of the grants and business rate holiday to include dentists, osteopaths and other services. A response is expected by 4th May.
Love Wimbledon is locally:
- co-ordinating support for businesses that remain open, facilitating support between businesses and the local community through donations and volunteers
- maintaining a regular street presence to reduce anti-social activity and also keeping an eye on empty premises
- working with community groups to accommodate the homeless
- preparing for the recovery and will be a key driver in re-opening the Town Centre
- consolidating information from central government
- communicating with businesses and providing resources such as the checklist for temporarily closing your business, developed with Merton Chamber of Commerce
We are hearing from some businesses that they are using this time to refine their business’ operating procedures and strengthening their marketing. Love Wimbledon can help to point you in the direction of local support, including Reach Out & Connect, a series of webinars hosted by Merton Chamber of Commerce.
