Businesses in Knowsley’s town centres are set to benefit from one-to-one business coaching from high street specialists to help them recover from the lockdown and make plans to grow and thrive in the future.
Knowsley Council is launching a year-long package of support for high street businesses, delivered by experts at national campaigning body SaveTheHighStreet.org.
It will mean tailored, one-to-one business support for up to a year to any eligible business in Prescot, Huyton or Kirkby town centres. As well as shops, bars, restaurants, and other high street businesses, the support will also be available to support traders at Kirkby Market. There will be opportunities for ‘local champions’ to get involved and work collaboratively with the team at Save The High Street, to spread the word and share best practice across the borough.
The project is part of Knowsley Council’s action plan for town centre recovery and is funded by the Liverpool City Region Mayoral Fund. It is designed to help businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors to bounce back strongly from lockdown and gain the skills and confidence to grow their businesses over the coming months.
Applications are now open for the free support programme, with information and registration forms for the three local centres at the heart of the project available for Prescot Town Centre, Huyton Village Centre and Kirkby Town Centre. The support will be delivered over 12 months and will include a series of exclusive webinars as well as dedicated one-to-one actionable advice based on each businesses individual circumstances, sector, and business goals. This will include useful strategies for selling in new ways, maximising Christmas sales and growing their online business.
Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development at Knowsley Council, said: “Our town centres are the lifeblood of our borough – and the traders have had a really tough time over the past six months. As a council we want to do everything we can to support them.
“Knowsley has such a strong story to tell about its town centres. Whilst traditional high streets up and down the country have been struggling for years, we’ve had a very much more positive picture in Knowsley. Prescot has been booming as a result of public and private sector investment, inspired by the new Shakespeare North Playhouse; Huyton is beginning to thrive as our masterplan for the Village Centre takes effect and in Kirkby, work is finally underway on a multi-million pound redevelopment scheme being delivered by the council.
“By using this funding to support the town centre businesses, we can make sure they continue to reap the benefits of being based here in Knowsley – after all, thriving town centres with a great retail and hospitality offer is what residents in this borough want, and deserve.”
Alex Schlagman, a founding partner of SaveTheHighStreet.org said: “Together, we will be helping high streets to recover quickly, and build resilience this year.”
He added: “The next few months may prove to be the most important in the history of the high street. It’s critical that every local business in Prescot, Huyton and Kirkby town centres has the support they need to achieve their potential. The more businesses that get involved with this programme, the stronger the recovery will be and the more resilient our local high streets will become for the future.”
Business coaches delivering this support are experts in their field – with extensive experience in business management, consultancy and mentoring, across several sectors including retail and hospitality.
Taking part in this coaching programme is completely free and registrations are now open on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis, using the following links:
Cllr Brennan added: “The value to the businesses of this one-to-one tailored business coaching is hard to quantify. We really believe this is going to be a game-changer for Knowsley’s town centre traders and I hope as many as possible sign up to benefit from this incredible opportunity.
“Knowsley Council has a really strong track record of supporting businesses – especially our independent town centre traders, and I’m sure that this latest package of support demonstrates just how much we value them.”