Open for Business: Welcome back to the high street

Businesses have reopened their doors for the festive season and local traders need our support now more than ever.

This week, as part of our Open for Business pull-out supported by Rolls Royce Motor Cars in the Observer, we featured dozens of businesses who have opened their doors this week as the Arun district moved into Tier 2.

To view the supplement, click here.

Free parking this festive season

On Tuesday, Arun District Council announced Christmas shoppers can again enjoy free parking on Saturdays during the festive season in several council-run car parks.

Free parking will be offered in these off-street car parks on the following dates:

December 5

Bognor Regis: Lyon Street and Hothamton Car Parks

Littlehampton: St Martins and Manor House Car Parks

December 5, 12 and 19

Fitzleet, Bognor Regis and Manor House, Littlehampton

Rustington also offers three hours of free car parking in both of its main car parks all year round.

Councillor Dr James Walsh, leader of Arun District Council and cabinet member for economy, said: “Our town centre shops and businesses have a great deal to offer and we’re delighted to be supporting our business community in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton again this year by offering free parking.

“With the ongoing pandemic, we would urge people to allow time for their shopping trip as queuing systems are in place, and to abide by all the guidelines, including wearing a face covering in shops unless you are exempt.

“It is more important than ever to shop local and support the independent shops in our district so please think about what they have to offer before searching for gifts in the chain stores or large online shops.”

Supporting businesses

When the shops reopened, an Arun spokesman said there would be more Community Information Officers present to support customers and businesses.

Dr Walsh also thanked everyone involved in promoting the ‘shop local’ message, including the Bognor Regis Business Improvement District, the Littlehampton Traders Partnership, Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Town Councils, all the parish councils and Biffa.

He added: “The support of all of these groups has made the difficult task of bringing people back to spend money in their town centre independent shops so much smoother. We are extremely grateful for everything they’ve done and for the support and hard work we’ve witnessed.”

The free parking does not include any privately run car parks. Disabled bays will also remain strictly for the use of blue badge holders only.

The chairman of Bognor Regis BID, Jason Passingham, said he is delighted to welcome shoppers back to the high street.

He said “We’re all looking forward to the reopening of shops and services this week, which will bring even more life to the town centre.

“We really thank everyone that has chosen to shop locally during the latest restrictions using click and collect, or delayed their Christmas shopping until their favourite local stores reopen.

“We know our businesses are really excited to be opening their doors again, and have put a lot of effort into making their premises both festive AND Covid-19 secure.

“It’s become a bit of a cliché to say that things are going to be different this Christmas, but please remember to be kind to front line staff and your queue buddies if this year’s different means things take a little longer.”

Find out how to get involved in the town centre’s (socially distanced) Christmas at: www.christmasbognorregis.co.ukFree business workshops

In the new year, West Sussex County Council is supporting a new initiative across the county to help small businesses which are finding the current climate commercially tough.

The West Sussex Recover & Rise in 2021 programme is a series of nine free online workshops designed to give small businesses a robust toolkit to not only survive through another year of unpredictable times, but to thrive.

These sessions have been put together by local experts – Rume2, Shake It Up Creative & Creative Bloom – to help business owners define, communicate and market in the right way to attract and retain customers throughout 2021. From product/service definition to networking, from setting goals and KPIs to tracking success through analytics, from action planning to digital marketing, this programme will give small and micro companies the structure and sales many of them desperately need as we head into a new year.

The sessions will be run online at 12pm every Tuesday and Friday from Tuesday, January 12. The business must be located within West Sussex to be eligible for these workshops. To sign up, click here.

Open for Business

Initiatives like this, and our Open for Business campaign, are vital to keep our businesses surviving and thriving into 2021 and beyond. That’s why we are urging you to shop local and support retailers in our area.

This campaign would not have been possible without the support of Chichester’s very own Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the world’s most prestigious car manufacturing company. This means local firms can promote their online and in-store offers and opening times free of charge.

With the final Open for Business pull-out in your Observer next week, we urge you to think about how you can support the small businesses in your area, in ways that keep you and your families safe. And we’ll continue to bang the drum for those companies which are open for business.

To be included in the next Open For Business pull-out, businesses should email no more than 60 words about their company and the service or products they offer to Bex Bastable at [email protected] by midday on Tuesday, December 8.