Town cautiously ready for visitors as council urges buy local

Hastings Borough Council is backing the buy local campaign and encouraging residents to buy locally to help Hastings' businesses begin to thrive again.

The council is cautiously welcoming visitors to the borough once again, providing they respect the town, and follow government guidance and social distancing.

Cllr Kim Forward, leader of the council, said
"We have been supporting the town's businesses through this pandemic by providing advice and support to them about how to operate safely in line with government guidelines and with help around re-opening. Since April we have paid out nearly £20m in grants to over 1700 small and retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.

"Now our high streets are open again, our businesses - who do so much to make this town what it is - need our support to help them recover from flourish again. We are wholeheartedly backing the buy local campaign.

"With even more businesses being able to open from the 4 July, the council is here to give advice and support to businesses who need it and to help ensure guidelines are being met.

"Our priority throughout this pandemic has been keeping residents safe and supporting businesses. We now feel we can cautiously welcome visitors back to our town and we expect everyone, whether they are people who live here or visitors, to follow social distancing and respect the guidelines we have put in place to ensure their safety.

"Our community has come together over the last few months to support each another and to work to keep us all as safe as possible and we know that we've had a relatively low infection rate since the pandemic started. We want this to continue so that our town stays safe and we do everything we can to ensure we don't have a spike in COVID-19 cases.

"Businesses are working really hard to follow the new guidelines and make sure they are operating safely, and this is very challenging for them. Our town's new full capacity will not yet be what our pre-COVID-19 full capacity was. 

"Please shop local and support our town making sure to stay safe and keep social distancing whilst doing so."
John Bownas, manager of Hastings BID said,

"Every pound that gets spent locally rather than online makes a huge difference. You don't have to spend any more money than you would have otherwise, just take the time to spend it at a shop in town. The local economy will rebound much faster if we stop cash bleeding out through online shopping. Just £10 each per week spent this way amounts to £20m a year that stays in the town. So do your bit and buy local."

Kevin Boorman, manager of 1066 Country Marketing, the local private/public sector tourism marketing partnership, added,

"We are delighted to be able to welcome visitors again, whilst stressing that it still isn't business as usual. We are asking visitors to respect, protect, and enjoy. Respect our local communities, any specific guidelines our partners have put in place, and respect our wildlife; protect yourself and others, by taking sensible precautions, and protect the environment and the landscape; and enjoy getting off the beaten track, if everyone heads to the same hotspot it is impossible to stay socially distanced.

"The last thing any of us want is a return to full lockdown, so please bear with us, and our attractions and accommodation providers, as we work together to make your visit safe and enjoyable."