Our City and towns have ‘missed you’ after a long period of lockdown. Now is our time to show them our ‘love’.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has today Friday 23 April, launched a new campaign to encourage everyone to support local businesses across the borough as the gradual easing of restrictions begins, and many businesses begin to reopen.
The campaign called ‘We’ve missed you’ will promote a strong support local message encouraging everyone to spend locally to show their ‘love’ for local businesses at this crucially important time for many, after a long period of closure.
The campaign has been made possible through funding from the Department for Communities’ (DfC) Covid-19 Recovery Revitalisation Programme which was introduced to support towns and city centres in their recovery. In total, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough has received £2,209,000 to deliver a number of projects under this programme.
The Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council said;
“I’m delighted to see the first steps towards the reopening of business across our borough underway today as a number of close contact services reopen, with more business planning to reopen in the coming weeks.
“In recent days I have visited many towns across the borough as businesses prepare for reopening and it is evident that they will need our support now, more than ever, as they begin to operate again in a continuously challenging world due to Covid-19. The resilience that many of these businesses have shown throughout this pandemic, is a testimony to their commitment to this borough, and I have every confidence that they will continue to receive the support they need in the weeks and months ahead to get back on their feet”.
Council has worked proactively with local businesses to ensure that social distancing and hygiene practices have been implemented for the safe return of customers. These important measures will help reassure employees and customers that establishments are, and will continue to be, Covid-19 safe. It is hoped that strict safety measures will entice shoppers to move away from online spending, and return to experience face-to-face hospitality and personalised customer service.
Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Kyle Savage was also keen to support local business at this time saying;
“Our city, towns and villages have been quiet for a long time now, and our local businesses have suffered dramatically throughout this past year, particularly in key sectors such as contact services, hospitality and retail. As these sectors begin the gradual reopening process in the weeks ahead, I am encouraging everyone to ‘Love’ their local borough businesses by making a special effort to book an appointment or pay them a visit. It is vitally important that we remember – local businesses provide local jobs, which support local families’ right across this borough”.
This engaging campaign will feature a wide variety of promotional activities in the weeks and months ahead, as the council continues to encourage everyone to stay local and ‘Love’ our borough businesses to help them breathe life back into our city, towns and villages.
