Survey to find out the impact of coronavirus on Crawley’s businesses

Crawley Borough Council and Manor Royal Business Improvement District (BID) are asking the town’s businesses to tell them how they are coping under the strain of coronavirus outbreak
Queens Square,  Crawley town centreQueens Square,  Crawley town centre
Queens Square, Crawley town centre

Crawley Borough Council and Manor Royal Business Improvement District (BID) are asking the town’s businesses to tell them how they are coping under the strain of coronavirus outbreak

It is hoped the new survey will provide the council and Manor Royal BID –an independent not-for-profit company formed by companies at the Manor Royal Business Park – with ‘real--time’ information on the impact of the crisis on day- to-day business activity in Crawley to show what additional support is needed for local businesses at this time. Businesses will be asked how staffing levels and turnover have been affected, what government business support schemes they have used and what further support they may need.

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All responses to the survey will be treated with confidence and the results will only be read by those involved in formulating a response to the Covid-19 crisis as part of Crawley’s Economic Recovery Plan.

Leader of Crawley Borough Council, councillor Peter Lamb, said: “Our initial aim was to support businesses as quickly as possible, using the government’s Small Business Rates Relief Grant and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant.

“Now we need to look at our long term recovery plan and this includes hearing from businesses and finding out where further resources need to be directed.”

Executive director at Manor Royal BID Steve Sawyer said: “How we come through this will depend on our ability to work together for an even better Crawley. We will work enthusiastically alongside the council as part of the Crawley Taskforce, which begins with collecting meaningful data from businesses so we can design a place-specific collective response. We encourage all businesses to complete this short but important survey.”

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In response to the pandemic, the council is forming an Economic Recovery Taskforce alongside local businesses, community and stakeholder representatives to evaluate the true impact of the crisis on the local economy and develop a coherent Economic Recovery Plan for the town, including how the forthcoming Crawley Towns Fund programme should be spent to aid recovery.

To fill out the survey, visit crawley.gov.uk/council-information/how-council-works/consultation