The Isle of Wight will share £6.1million of funding to spend on projects that will help local high streets through the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP has announced this week.
The money will be paid to local authorities and dispersed to Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) such as Visit Isle of Wight. These are local business partnerships that bring developers and communities together to provide local leadership, drive regeneration and deliver projects and additional local services.
Many BIDs are now playing a crucial role during these challenging economic times, offering hands-on support to those businesses affected, including advice services, increased security to protect businesses that have closed, and providing key intelligence to local and central government on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on their local economies.
High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP said:
“The Government has announced a comprehensive programme of support for businesses to help them deal with the economic impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic and today we are extending that support to Business Improvement Districts.
“These partnerships are uniquely placed and have a proven track record of success in supporting local businesses, empowering communities, championing our town centres and driving forward the renewal of our high streets.
“It’s only right that during these unprecedented times we give them all the necessary support they need to continue operating, so that they can carry on their vital work now and crucially when we move into the next phase of the current crisis.”
British BIDs Chief Executive Chris Turner commented:
“Government has listened to the requests that we have made on behalf of the BID industry.
“I am exceptionally grateful to the numerous BIDs that have actively supported and engaged with this process, particularly those who joined in our initial Q&A sessions and completed the online survey which, together, provided us with the evidence that we needed.
“My thanks also must go to those levy paying businesses that have backed their BIDs in the request for assistance and to the ATCM and the BID Foundation who have worked in partnership with us on this.
“I am pleased that the outcome is this announcement of much needed support for the industry.”
All it means is, those in suits have secured more salary from HMG to sit and discuss what they think should happen in the High street.
Instead of letting natural supply and demand, and the fittest, leanest, most proactive businesses thrive whilst the unwanted, lazy, or out of favour businesses fail as they always have, and will anyway, regardless of a bunch of ‘experts’ earning a good salary ‘advising’ them otherwise.
Easy money for such advisors now since CV, just tell HMG you are out to save businesses and whether you do, or not, your fat pay cheque is secured.
Just what Visit Isle of Wight want.
A free handout from central Government in addition to the ‘stealth tax’ that the Destination Bid Levy is on businesses involved with Tourism.
What they (conveniently) forget is that those businesses pay regular taxes and business rates and also work hard to promote their businesses, without which they would not be able to pay Visit Isle of Wight.
However Visit Isle of Wight are frequently to be seen in the local press blowing their own trumpet about how THEY have increased the number of visitors to the island.
Sorry, but I have not seen ONE definitive project by Visit Isle of Wight that has directly benefitted the Island.
i presume visit isle of wight will be providing refunds seeing as they cannot do their jobs in this lockdown. Thieving off local businesses through a tax that no one wanted, just to fund the jollys of a few leeches.
Yes, I was wondering when the refund will come
They don’t do their jobs anyway.. visitor numbers are declining every year, mainly due to the extortionate ferry prices! So don’t believe any of the results of visitor numbers compelled by VIOW or the ferry companies, cos they are liars!
They lie about visitor numbers, & so do the ferries, cos they try and justify doing a good job of getting visitors here. The iow lost over 300,000 visitors in 5 years from 2011-2016. The Dbid business tax payment was only set up because VIOW was almost bankrupt, & I can’t believe all the islands businesses fell for it. The best thing they could have done was back the fixed link, & donate to the viability study, to end this situation and ferry company control. The IW would be full of visitors spending money here, if they could get on & off quicker, easier, & cheaper! solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk
Quick lads print off more money
The BID was voted in favour of by an overwhelming majority of businesses that it affects and the few businesses I know first hand who are against it, by their own admission didn’t go to any of the numerous consultation meetings ahead of the vote and its introduction. Anyone claiming it is a stealth tax is doing so despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Those of us who have the experience and mechanisms of measuring where our trade comes from have been able to measure distinct results from VIOW campaigns. Now it looks like the BID will bring money to the Island to help promote tourism which is a third of the Island’s economy and is a sector that is worst hit by the crisis, so it’s very disappointing to see people wanting to speak out against it.
and how many of those businesses are still around now, having committed future businesses to funding this tax – thornton used to take £54k a year as ceo of this “rinsing” job.
it is a continual rip off of current and future businesses on this island, which are perfectly capable of advertising themselves. It is a tax that is not needed and never was.
Those that refuse to pay this tax are taken to court – therefore it is not a voluntary subscription to the marketing programme that it is- if you can be taken to court for non payment, then it is a tax
Back pockets and crooked council comes to mind!!
The only way to end visit iow, and ripping off island businesses, is to get a fixed link, because visitors will flock here, & visit iow won’t be needed! I’ve been following the campaign for the last 2 years since I moved back here, but I grew up here. The amount of people I spoke to on the mainland, that said they have never been here, because of the cost to get here, was unbelievable. I was always against a link, but not anymore, as it’s definitely needed, or this island will die. I’m even thinking about moving back to the mainland because of the problems here.
And don’t forget, the former CEO’s wife ended up in court on fraud charges. He claimed he knew nothing of her actions….
All recorded so not hearsay!
yes – they have about 15 directors on visit isle of wight – of which wayne whittle councillor is one of them – since when did it become ok for councillors to leech the public further like this.
This outfit rinsed the locals for £866,944 and spent £946,348 in the year to end august 2018.
They state that visitors to the island remained stable at 2.37m – so they didn’t manage to increase visitor numbers at all, despite all those directors rinsing the island businesses – I guess they must have paid themselves a large chunk of this money to themselves as salaries.
Even the auditors resigned in march 2019.
This dodgy outfit of self serving leeches needs disbanding.
The accounts on companies house show a reference to theft and fraud by an ex employee.
A known FACT that one that ‘I’ shan’t name, but who has been highlighted now, pays workers who he knows who are on benefits cash in hand in his numerous businesses here.
Absolute corrupted businessmen having the gall to extract more cash, in the pretence of aiding others.
Akin to putting the fox to guard the hen house.
Thankfully the Island is a small place and people know more than these parasites realise now. Only a click away to report such now.
Don’t forget his wife stole from the takings as well, and nearly went to jail
The iow does not have a decent high st or town centre that’s worth saving, so why don’t you use £97k of the money to get the fixed link viability study performed. Then everyone can get to decent mainland shops! solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk
because we do not want a fixed link vic – feeney and his tunnel fanatics have been banging that drum for four years and only raised £33k – that is it out of the £130k desired. That amount won’t be enough now, after four years of waiting.
Give it up – there won’t be any tunnel this side of 2050 at all, ever.
You are forgetting that the county on the mainland that would be expected to have the off and on ramps for this tunnel would see no economic benefit and would be saddled with a large scale development and destruction of their greenfield areas to accomodate such a strucutre. They will be putting up with pollution and people trucking theirselves in and making a mess
it will be opposed vehemently.
Then there is the opposition to the destruction of greenfields on the island which will be opposed
not to mention the disruption to the marine life in the seabed, where driling would be happening – they are protected also
according to the visit isle of wight leeches – 2.37 million people visited the island in a year – that would be 2.37m people through feeneys tunnel – how much pollution and how annoyed would residents be on the mainland with this many people being funnelled into their county – not happy, that is how happy they would be.
forget your tunnel not happening ever.
Who is we? You don’t speak for anyone else & you obviously don’t know anything. So how is marine life affected when a tunnel is at least 50m under the sea bed?? Fixed links improve the economy in the whole area, try reading various reports of fixed links, before & after they opened. According to the tunnel website, Arup will honour the study for that cost, no matter how long it takes to raise
Exactly… he does not speak for me either when he says ‘we don’t want a link’ . All the polls taken in the last few years have shown a majority in favour of the link
Luckily it won’t happen, so let them waste their time, cash and life on a failed project. Stops them doing some other stupid plan for the ‘good of the Island’ which may gain support, this never will, despite their surveys.
exactly frank
there have been numerous fixed link studies over the years and all have come to nothing, except of course enriching those involved in the study and those pumping the pointless scheme.
we …as in the majority
@vic if we wanted a fixed link, then that £130k would have easily been raised, the fact that it hasn’t been demonstrates the lack of support from the island. 144,000 people or thereabouts on the island – that is less than a pound each and they have managed to raise £33k in four years – talk about flogging a dead horse.
No they haven’t, Vic! You seem to be living in Dreamland. Try coming back down to earth.
@Jon
we …as in the majority
if we wanted a fixed link, then that £130k would have easily been raised, the fact that it hasn’t been demonstrates the lack of support from the island. 144,000 people or thereabouts on the island – that is less than a pound each and they have managed to raise £33k in four years – talk about flogging a dead horse.
@Jon
and how does a tunnel get 50m under the sea bed?
it is drilled from onshore – which disrupts and destroys the marine life on the seabed, with vibration and sediment disturbance.
You are obviously a tunnel specialist, so everything you say must be true lol. Do you know how many tunnels have been, and are being built all over the world, with none of the problems you are scaremongering about??
I believe it’s £120k actually, & I think the study should go ahead, as no one can say if it’s viable or not, until the experts complete the study. What are you scared of? Why are jersey & Guernsey looking into a fixed link now?