Farnham businesses say they welcome town improvements
Businesses in Farnham have said they are feeling positive about a programme of improvements in the town, but there was concern about the government's changes to National Insurance and business rates.Works which started in February include wider pavements, more pedestrian controlled crossings and changes to the gyratory, with two-way traffic introduced in parts of Downing Street and The Borough.A Surrey County Council (SCC) spokesperson said they would continue to work to minimise disruption as much as possible.The owner of Hamilton's Tea House, Steve Hamilton, told BBC Radio Surrey that the mood amongst retailers was "quite buoyant".
He acknowledged there were some concerns in the short term, including around pollution levels."Sometimes the perception on social media is that the traffic is worse than it is," he said. "It flows. Yes, there's stagnation at certain times. That's short lived and the traffic does flow through."For customers, Farnham is going to be beautiful and a much nicer place to visit and shop in."
From 14-18 April, BBC South East will be getting out and about on our region's high streets. Catch up on BBC South East Today on BBC iPlayer and listen to BBC Radio Kent, Sussex and Surrey on BBC Sounds.
Mr Hamilton said they were being "hit hardest" by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to raise employer National Insurance contributions and reduce business rates relief from 75% to 40%.Michaela Martin, owner of the boutique Mulberry Silks and a Farnham Residents county councillor, agreed it was causing problems."I don't think Rachel Reeves even thought about that... somebody who's never been in a small business doesn't realise [the impact]."Ms Martin said she was "quite happy" with how the works were going and that she "can't complain" about trade at the moment."Farnham is a destination town," she added. "We have so many people from Marlborough, Andover, across the south coast, Dorking and everything coming [here]."
An SCC spokesperson said: "While data shows that levels of car park use in Farnham remains the same, we will continue to work with the local community and local businesses to support Farnham, and to minimise disruption as much as possible."We'll also be encouraging people to consider how they travel into town, both during the works and beyond. "Changing to walking, cycling, using public transport or parking in different car parks will all help reduce pressure on the town centre's roads."A Treasury spokesperson said the government knew the "vital importance of small businesses" and had taken "necessary decisions on tax to stabilise public finances"."We are now focused on creating opportunities for businesses to compete and access the finance they need to scale, export and break into new markets," added the spokesperson.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
NHS, houses, nuclear submarines: Labour sets out its spending plans
The last few weeks have proved difficult for Rachel Reeves. In public, the news has been dominated by Labour's U-turn on the winter fuel allowance. In private, the Treasury has been caught up in wrangle after wrangle with ministers, all negotiating what their departments would receive in the spending review. Reeves' speech to parliament on Wednesday announcing the review was a chance to tell a more positive story – particularly for a government accused of lacking direction and ambition. As economics editor Heather Stewart reports, there were some big winners: health, defence, and housing. Yet at the same time, day-to-day spending for some departments – such as local government or the environment – seems very tight. So, asks Helen Pidd, will Labour allow those services to come under even more pressure, or will Reeves have to eventually raise taxes to fund them too?
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW NEIL: Starmer's claim to be 'investing in Britain's renewal' is delusional drivel in a class of its own - even for a Government that's a stranger to the truth
Our first job was to stabilise the economy and public finances,' Keir Starmer tweeted yesterday morning, a few hours before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour's spending plans for the rest of the decade. 'Now, we move into a new chapter . . . we're investing in Britain's renewal.'
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Chris Mason: Spending Review a gamble on patience in an era of impatience
The hours, days, weeks and even months after a Spending Review can feel like peeling away the layers of an there is the speech from the chancellor in the Commons: the political rhetoric and the numbers often designed to sound big but which are often there are accompanying documents - in this instance in particular a blue-covered, 128-page tome crammed with words, numbers and work of months, much of it conducted privately with intermittent blasts of authorised and unauthorised briefing, talking up and grumbling, then suddenly bursts out in public demanding digestion. But that takes time. And as the detail is pored over, elements that were not put up in lights by the chancellor become clearer.A good example is the expectation many, many people in England and Wales will be paying higher council tax to help fund the police - something not set out explicitly by Rachel Reeves at the dispatch details on what is planned are expected in the coming weeks - with the government's infrastructure plans due to be set out other elements could take much longer to play out: for example, an obscure budget in a particular department that was culled, only for an outcry in six months time. Or, conversely, a budget that hasn't been culled but is later determined to be a waste of money. Seven ways the Spending Review affects youWinners and losers: Who got what in the review?What has the chancellor has announced? The key pointsWatch: Where the money is being spent The government is seeking to badge this moment as a turning prime minister told the Cabinet and has now written in the Guardian that "this week we bettered a new stage in the mission for national renewal. Last autumn we fixed the foundations. Today we showed Britain we will rebuild."Let's curiosity here is the standard critique of political leaders is turned on its head with much of this Spending often the grumble is one of short-termism, the quick win, the lack of strategic long term yet the gamble the government has taken is a willingness for patience in an era of term, so called capital spending, can - the argument goes - transform the public realm and in so doing transform economic it doesn't happen quickly and day-to-day spending is limited, even cut in this at a time of volatile politics and a restlessness among an electorate, many of whom feel squeezed and have done for years and Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged to me there was an impatience for change - the very thing Labour promised - and pointed to an expansion of entitlement to free school meals and breakfast clubs in England, for big bet though remains on economic growth - finding it and sustaining lack of it is the shackle on so much within government and beyond: the national mood, taxes, you name yes the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn will hang in the air all the big test of this Spending Review is the contribution it can make to delivering growth - and when.
