BID Leamington makes statement on Boris Johnson's 'roadmap' out of lockdown

Stephanie Kerr, executive director of BID Leamington, said: "We welcome the government's announcement about the gradual reopening of our town centre, which provides much-needed hope and certainty to businesses here.

“This also helps us to formulate more concrete ideas around our town centre recovery plan that we will be working closely with Local Authority partners to deliver.

"However, the road to recovery is long.

"We await the Chancellor’s Budget in March when we will find out more of its economic plans to aid business recovery.

"We would like to see further business support, including continuation of business rates relief and reduced VAT, and further grants for closed businesses to support ongoing overhead costs.

“Additional support is also needed for those who have fallen through the gaps in existing policy, such as suppliers and directors, alongside incentives to bring workers back from furlough and support a return to work.

"In the meantime, we are very grateful for the support people continue to show Leamington stores by purchasing from them online and we urge everyone to keep observing Covid regulations.

"Anyone wishing to find out more can visit loveleamington.com."