Coronavirus: Hastings businesses given time to make payments amid crisis

BIDs collect money from local businesses in order to invest that money back into events, street improvements, and crime prevention.

Catherine Parr, chairman of the Hastings BID, announced the suspension of charges on the second day of the government’s increased response to the emerging situation.

She said: “With impeccably bad timing the levy bills for 2020/21 went out just before the weekend alongside the business rate demands. With hindsight we should have asked the council to hold them back, but, now the Government has begun to issue recommendations that will see many business incomes slashed overnight, we knew there was no option but for us to act.

“We are therefore pleased to reassure our small-to-medium sized local businesses that this is one bill they won’t need to worry about until a lot later in the year.

“Although the average levy bill is only about £350 per year and many businesses only pay as little as £120 we know that when cash is tight every little helps – to quote from a well-known retail ad campaign.”

The Hastings BID is asking the small number of larger organisations who pay more than £1,500 per year to continue making their contributions to help the company continue providing support to various projects and events over the summer and autumn that will be vital to the town’s economic health.

This includes events such as Pirate Day, the return of the popular ‘beach’ to Priory Meadow, Coastal Currents Arts Festival, and Hastings Pride.

The BID is in the process of putting out almost 100 planting troughs to bring greenery and colour to the town, and a new public art project is about to be launched which will see scores of local artists having their works displayed prominently in the area.

In response to the council’s reduction in budget for CCTV monitoring, the Hastings BID is putting out a number of its own cameras to help keep an eye on parts of the town centre.