Paddington’s hospitality, retail and leisure sectors are in urgent need of government intervention in the wake of the Omicron variant and Plan B restrictions.
PaddingtonNow BID, along with British BIDs, BID Foundation, ATCM, British Beer and Pub Association, Night Time Industries Association and hundreds of other BIDs across the country are calling on the Government to provide a #BusinessBooster and urgent assurances that financial support will be provided to these sectors.
Hospitality is the UK’s third largest sector, employing 3.2million people (10% of the UK workforce) and produces £130 billion of economic activity. These sectors are vital to our economic recovery and the current measures in place do not reflect the current concerns faced by businesses across the nation. We need the government to act now in order to save our high streets from extinction.
PaddingtonNow BID, alongside British BIDs and the BID Foundation, and on behalf of its businesses are calling on Government to:
• provide 100% Business Rate Relief instead of the current 25% to hospitality, retail and leisure sector businesses until 31st March 2022 (no cap). Followed by a 50% Business Rate Relief from 1st April 2022 to 30th June 2022 (no cap).
• extend the current VAT reduction for the hospitality sector of 12.5% through to 31st March 2023 to allow the sector to respond and support the re-emergence of the UK economy.
• introduce grants up to £15,000 by rateable value to businesses within the hospitality, retail and leisure sector to enable them to survive in light of a festive trading period in tatters, a bleak outlook for the new Year and the impending rent quarter date of 25th December 2021.
PaddingtonNow BID has written directly to Westminster Council in support of the #BusinessBooster campaign. Read the full letter to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson here.
For the latest updates on the #BusinessBooster campaign click here.
