Date: 9 April 2008
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce welcomes today's decision by the Tram Project Board and City of Edinburgh Council to extend The Small Business Support Scheme, which alleviates financial pressures on businesses affected by the tram installation works, and to give extra funding to the key Open For Business initiative, assisting businesses across the Capital.
Chamber Chief Executive, Ron Hewitt said: "We were right to initiate the drive for support for businesses through the construction process which we did over two years ago. From the outset the SBSS has of course had rules concerning eligibility - you wouldn't expect anything else when people are managing public money. It has also been the case that the scheme has been open to appeal. We are glad that the proposers and managers of the project have been able to extend the scheme into businesses affected in side streets, who in some cases have also seen significant drop in footfall, and to top up the Open for Business scheme which is helping promote city centre retail during the work.
"We know the benefits of the disruption will not be felt until construction is completed, so it is vital we give all the support we can to businesses to ensure their sustanabilty during the construction phase. Businesses should also be aware of the offer of rates revaluation during this difficult period, and remember they have a right of appeal to the Assessor if they are not happy with the outcome of any decision."
Detail:
Under the previous criteria, businesses located on side streets along the tram route were unable to apply for support. This agreement now changes that rule to include:
- those businesses located no greater than 100 metres from the works or the end of the street if less than 100 metres, and;
- the postal address of the business is for the street immediately adjacent to the works, i.e. Stafford Street.
tie estimates that this will increase the number of businesses eligible by approximately 200 and offer assistance to more businesses than originally anticipated. A further change to the scheme will now enhance the role of the Open for Business Scheme. Any money left over as a consequence of the new rule change will be given to Open for Business, potentially providing additional marketing support to more businesses.
To date, the scheme has distributed over £500m of support to over 50% of the businesses on Leith Walk.
