‘Local champions’ sought to help high streets fight back from pandemic

Local people are being invited to play a key role in helping their neighbourhood shops and retail centres to bounce back from the pandemic under a new scheme.

Under the Save The High Street Three Rivers scheme, local people are being invited to step forward to act as local champions, who can engage and identify what support they want for themselves and their locality.

The project is part of a wider programme lead by high street retail experts SaveTheHighStreet.org and Three Rivers District Council which aims to support local retailers.

Alex Schlagman, chief executive of SaveTheHighStreet.org, said: “High streets are the heartbeat of the local community and a key engine for the local economy. We invite anyone who would like to share their views about local high streets to register for ‘Save The High Street Three Rivers’ today. If you would like to get involved with initiatives to benefit your local high streets we want to hear from you too. The future of high streets across the district depends on how we all act now, and this part of our programme is about giving everyone the opportunity to have the impact they want in the places they care most about.”

Cllr Sarah Nelmes, Leader of the Council, said: “We are thrilled to continue working with Save The High Street. This project aims to support businesses with anything from boosting retail footfall, securing funding, increasing online presence to growing teams, building websites or creating engaging marketing. And we are extremely keen to engage local people to help us understand what support their area would benefit from.”

The call for local champions comes ahead of a series of high street drop-in sessions for local businesses offering free advice and support as well free health checks which will help them adopt strategies tailored for independent traders.

The free support will provide a recommended action plan to help achieve individual business goals, a step by step guide and one-to-one calls and online chats with expert advisors. The support will be personalised for each business across a number of different themes such as increasing footfall, managing finances, collaborating locally, making the most of seasonal opportunities and more.

To volunteer to become a local champion or to find out more about Save The High Street Three Rivers, contact info@savethehighstreet.org  or visit https://savethehighstreet.org/threerivers