Sowerby Bridge News

Council To Discuss Support For Retailers In Sowerby

Local retailers could be set to get a helping hand at Christmas from Calderdale Council. Members of Calderdale Council’s Cabinet will discuss a proposal to provide an £88,000 package to help reduce the number of empty shops in the borough and encourage people to buy locally over the Christmas period when they meet next Monday (Sept 13th).

Calderdale’s Economic Task Force is recommending to Cabinet that £36,000 is allocated from the Economic Fighting Fund to support campaigns to shop locally.

£5,000 would be used in each of the following towns: Brighouse; Elland; Halifax; Hebden Bridge; Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden, to encourage people to shop locally.

Six smaller shopping areas: King Cross, Ripponden, Mytholmroyd, West Vale, Hipperholme and Shelf/Northowram would each receive £1,000-worth of support.

Calderdale Council’s Leader, Cllr Janet Battye, says the ETF’s recommendation follows a similar scheme last year, when a similar amount was allocated to support retailers across Calderdale.

“These are difficult times for the Council, but also for local businesses. So it is even more important that the Council finds the resources to help retailers across the borough.”

In addition, the Government has already provided £52,632 towards the cost of tackling empty shops. Members of the Economic Task Force have recommended that Cabinet should be asked to allocate the money for a specialist to be appointed on an 18-month contract to work with owners of shop premises to help reduce the number of empty shops across the borough.