Banbury BID backs national campaign to support the town’s retail, hospitality and leisure sector

The #RaiseTheBar campaign, spearheaded by Croydon BID, is asking the central government to expand the rateable value threshold for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses from £51,000 to any business with a rateable value up to and including £150,000, allowing them to access the £25,000 grant in order to survive.

Jo Holland, BID Manager for Banbury, said: “We estimate around 6 per cent of our levying paying businesses in Banbury have a rateable value of more than £51,000 and therefore no access to the retail, hospitality and leisure grant.

“We strongly believe the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant provision, particularly the threshold of £51,000 to be far too low to provide adequate support to these businesses in their time of need. Amending the rateable value from £51,000 to £150,000, would save even more businesses and jobs in Banbury.”

The campaign is supported by industry wide bodies that represent over 100,000 businesses across the UK.

The retail, hospitality and leisure sector is vital to the UK economy and must be protected at all costs.

The retail industry alone generated £394 billion worth of sales in 2019 with 306,655 units across the UK.

In 2019, the UK leisure sector reached over £111 billion in sales.

The UK hospitality employs over 3.2 million people, that is 11 per cent of UK jobs, making it the third largest sector in the UK, accounting for £130 billion in revenue, 6 per cent of all businesses and 5 per cent GDP.

To support the campaign individually whether you work in the sectors or not, you can visit www.raisethebarcampaign.co.uk and sign up to make a positive change.

About the campaign

#RaiseTheBar is a national lobbying campaign led by Croydon BID with supportive partners including: BID Foundation, British BIDs, Association of Town and City Management, UK Hospitality, Beer and Pub Association, Night Time Industries Association.

About Banbury BID

Banbury Business Improvement District (BID) officially began its five-year term on April 1, 2018 following the successful outcome of the local ballot.

BID aims to make Banbury town centre a better place for business and more vibrant for shoppers and visitors.

A key principle of the BID is that its activities and initiatives should be in addition to what is already provided by local councils, the police and other agencies.

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