Belfast Chamber has been calling on the Executive to create a NI version of the Future High Streets Fund that has operated in GB for some time and this Revitalisation Scheme is a step in the right direction and is an indication by Ministers that they appreciate the pressures facing our city and town centres. We need to work together to ensure our high streets survive the threat they currently face and we would encourage the Executive to create a task force to allow us to pool our collective efforts towards rejuvenating our city and town centres.
This scheme will allow cities and towns to invest in capital improvements that will help in making them more attractive destinations. At present, maintaining a clean and safe environment is also crucial and Belfast Chamber would call on the Executive to further financially support Councils to, for example, enhance street cleaning, provide more hand sanitising stations and improve public toilet provision”
Aodhán Connolly, director of Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, added his welcome to the package of measures.
“The Ministers are to be commended for this great progress for cities, towns and villages across Northern Ireland that will allow a safer shopping experience across Northern Ireland and will hopefully be a boost for shopper confidence. This was a key priority for us in our joint paper with Belfast Chamber Fighting Back: The Way Back for Retail in NI.
While shops can open, some are at greatly reduced capacity due to social distancing and footfall levels continue to be decimated. We need both the continued support of government but also the support of the public to come out and get behind NI’s retail industry. By doing so they will support not only thousands of jobs in retail but many more in the service and agri-food industries to name but two. If we don’t have this continued backing our high streets will look very different in the months and years to come.”
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