Covid-19 Information

As the first stage of reopening is fast approaching on 12th April, GO! Southampton is working on a number of projects and activities that focus on supporting our levy payers out of what we hope we will be our final lockdown. On this page, you will find a summary of current projects as well as future initiatives for 2021. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at info@gosouthampton.co.uk

Greater City Centre Experience

Diverted Giving Scheme

Funded by GO! Southampton the Street Support Network is launching a contactless donation giving scheme, supporting three local charities that provide support to rough sleepers. We aim to have six contactless donation points across the city centre, in which we hope visitors and residents will ‘change the way they give’ and donate to one of the charities. There will also be a dedicated website for donations. This project is set to launch in May

Extra security

From 1 April 2021, we will be increasing our security presence across the BID area to give businesses extra reassurance and support as the city begins to reopen. Our team will be working 10am – 8pm Monday to Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sunday offering an extra 32 hours a week. If you need to contact our security please call 07725737236. Alternatively, you can sign up to our new radio scheme as part of our newly accredited Southampton Business Crime Partnership.

The Big City Clean

Working with Southampton City Council, we will be introducing a deep cleaning programme from April to refresh and renew the city centre. Our cleaning team will continue with hotwashing, gum removal and deep cleaning street furniture whilst we look at ways to remove unwanted graffiti and tackle fly tipping.

Public art project

After our city centre bench project, we are now looking at more opportunities to enhance the public realm and bring to life other areas of the city centre whilst supporting local artists.

One of the opportunities includes animating vacant shop windows with vibrant vinyls created by local artists. The first has been installed in the old Argos unit on High Street, created by Nathan Evans.

Better Marketing & Events

Photography project

We have recently launched our photography service which offers consumer-facing levy payers a free half day session with a professional photographer. We understand how important it is, especially for reopening, that businesses a strong bank of professional photos to help market to their customers. If you would like to know more about the service please email Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk

Visit Southampton marketing campaigns

We are working on a Visit Southampton reopening campaign which aims to reassure and encourage local residents and workers back into the city centre post lockdown. The campaign will be a continuation of the ‘We’ve Missed You SO Much – Welcome Back’ creative and will include key safety messaging as well as highlighting businesses that are open in the city and things to see and do. We ask that businesses help amplify the messaging of this campaign across their own channels, please see the partner toolkit here. In addition to the main creative, we have also produced specifics assets for the businesses opening on 12 April and another set for those opening on 17 May under the ‘SO Open’ design.

Staycation campaign

We are working with a PR agency on a staycation campaign that looks to position Southampton as a regional destination for short stays which is particularly important for the summer when people are looking to go abroad but can’t due to Covid restrictions. The agency is working on securing a number to press trips to the city with a host of journalists as well as writing press releases and answering press calls for regional and national publications. Several press trips are being organised for May-July 2021.

A new urban festival for Southampton

Postponed from 2020, GO! Southampton is working with partners to create a brand new mass-participant event for the city centre. This event will bring together the community through art, music, sports, poetry and much more. We hope to bring you this brand new urban arts festival in the Autumn.

Stronger Business

Southampton Inside Out

Developing on the work we began last year on our Southampton Inside Out project we are exploring new opportunities to open up other spaces in the city centre for outdoor dining. Since February, we have been looking at options for the Guildhall Square area and how we can utilise this space in the best way to support businesses.

We are also continuing to offer support to our levy payers who need help applying for a Pavement Licence/Tables and Chairs Consent via Southampton City Council so they can use the space outside their premise. We can offer help with layout plan drawings and can you link you to the council for help with the overall application.

Bedford Place/Carlton Place road closure pilot scheme

Through our Southampton Inside Out initiative, we have been able to work with the council to implement the road closure pilot scheme in Bedford Place/Carlton place to offer additional outdoor dining for businesses in the area to help with the reduced capacity regulations. We are working hard to get the area ready for reopening on 12 April by adding new planters and festoon lighting. We have also started work on a road painting project in collaboration with Solent Showcase Gallery, Architectural Designer Darren Bray and local artist Amanda Young.

Footfall Cameras

Our footfall camera project is set to launch in late spring/early summer. We are partnering with the council to install cameras into selected areas of the city centre to capture data on footfall. This data will help us find more information on who is coming into the city and inform our future campaigns/projects.

Business Events

Throughout lockdown, we have been hosting virtual business events including business roundtables, Q&A sessions and an exciting virtual exchange event with the port city of Rotterdam. In partnership with the council and with funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, we organised six free half-day Mental Health courses for Southampton business owners. Moving forward, we are looking to reintroduce our quarterly City Networking events with the first to take place in July.

Please check out weekly business bulletins and events calendar for updates. You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest BID information.

Over the course of lockdown the team have been working hard to adjust our priorities and projects to ensure they align with supporting levy payers during November and into Christmas as well as bring new and exciting activities to the city. Please see below a list of projects we have been working on during this time, categorised by our theme groups. You can also read our Winter Newsletter here.

A Greater City Centre Experience

7 day-a-week security

Working with SWL security, GO! Southampton will pilot providing additional security to achieve a 7 day a week cover in December from a 5 day a week service. SWL has now interview personnel and we hope to have new members to our team soon.

Operation Luscombe

Since the beginning on November we have been working with Hampshire Constabulary and Southampton City Council to provide targeted support and enforcement to change the behaviour of prolific members of the street attached community who are committing crime and anti-social behaviour.

The Big City Clean

Working with Southampton City Council the city will benefit from increased cleansing with particular focus on upgrading the heritage assets and retail core as part of the #BigCityClean

COVID Queue Management

GO! Southampton has refreshed the “Be Smart, Stay Apart” floor vinyl’s to aid businesses with queue management outside their business premise ready for visitors return in December.

BENCH project

In collaborate with Solent Showcase Gallery, Solent University and Southampton City Council, 14 new benches, individually designed by local artists will be installed in Above Bar Street as part of a wider public art project, with more to be installed soon.

Installing Christmas Trees and additional Christmas Lights

GO! Southampton has installed two Christmas trees into the city in Bedford Place and at the Bargate. We are also looking to install additional lights in the Bedford Place area in time for the Christmas period. The rest of the city has been dressed with lighting thanks to GO! and Southampton City Council.

Covid Business Champions

GO! Southampton in partnership with Southampton City Council will launch monthly COVID Business Champion Briefings for the latest about the COVID-19 position in the city including an update from the councils public health team.

Cargo Cruiser

Lockdown gives us the chance to prepare our newest team member for their debut in the city – a Veloform Cargo Cruiser. This Berlin-built, electric-assist delivery vehicle will assist our rangers, security team and cleaners in helping to keep the city centre safe and clean. It will also carry messaging about the latest BID initiatives.

Stronger Business

Small Business Saturday

GO! Southampton has put a spotlight on the city through joining up with the UK Small Business Saturday team to celebrate the fantastic small businesses available in the city. GO! Southampton will have a spot on their Facebook Live digital event over the weekend of 25 November.

Bedford Place activation

To progress on our #SouthamptonInsideOut initiative, we are working on ways to further activate and animate the Bedford Place road closure pilot scheme. We have already had local artists design and paint the bollards situated in the area (in partnership with Solent Showcase and Solent University) and will continue to work with partners on other initiatives.

Footfall Cameras

GO! Southampton has joined with Southampton City Council to install new footfall cameras into the city to help understand how the city centre is performing.

Business Events

In the coming months, we will be working with partners to bring a schedule of virtual business events, covering a range of topics and areas for levy payers to be involved with. Check back this page, our social media channels and email bulletins for the latest updates.

Business Rates Consultancy Support

The BID is piloting a new free service, in association with leading city surveyor Vail Williams. If you believe you might be paying too much in business rates, or that your rateable value or property description is incorrect, please contact office@gosouthampton.co.uk. We will link you up to an expert at Vail Williams for a free half-hour consultation.

Better Marketing

Southampton From Your SOfa

We are continuing to work with businesses to provide refresh and update our Southampton From Your SOfa pages on the visit Southampton website. These pages give cultural venues in the city a platform to promote their online content to consumers – from virtual events and gigs, to online art exhibitions and educational videos.

Visit Southampton Christmas campaign

We will be launching our Visit Southampton Christmas campaign once lockdown has lifted and Southampton can reopen for the festive season. The campaign will include a dedicated landing page on our website and promotion of Southampton’s offering across digital channels, both organic and paid. If your business has a Christmas offering please contact us at content@gosouthampton.co.uk

B2B communication

We have increased our email bulletin frequency to once a week, to ensure our levy payers have the most up to date information on national COVID guidance as well as updates on BID services and local news. If you are not receiving these emails but would like to please email us at content@gosouthampton.co.uk

The last few months have been like no other for businesses and residents and the coronavirus pandemic has led to Southampton’s doors temporarily closing to the public.

Now a vast majority of sectors and businesses can safely reopen in the city and we are here, as always, to support all of our levy payers to help them through lockdown and into successfully and safely trading again.

Life for the GO! team has not stopped. We have been working extremely hard to adapt and react to the ongoing crisis, finding the most effective ways to support our businesses. On this page you will find our 4-stage recovery plan, highlighting our response through the crisis and pre-recovery phases, how we’re journeying with you through the current recovery period, and our plans for transforming the city in the future.

Partnership Working
Work with national bodies (such as the BID Foundation, local agencies (Southampton City Council and Hampshire Constabulary) and fellow business groups on joined-up initiatives, communications and lobbying to support businesses.

Preventing Crime
Monitor closed businesses and provide enhanced security service including revised hours and new vehicle patrols. Closer coordination with Hampshire Constabulary for more effective crime prevention and information sharing and intelligence.

Communication & Insight
Issue regular updates to levy payers through letters, email bulletins, GO! Southampton website and social media channels on policy updates, support and funding news. Distribute COVID-19 Business Impact Survey.

Cleaning
Adapt cleaning service in partnership with the Council, to focus on disinfecting high contact surfaces such as traffic lights, bus stops and street furniture with anti-viral materials.

City Reopening
Deliver city reopening plan with the Council. Focus on measures to support safety, social distancing & active travel.

Communication & Insight
Share national/local updates to help businesses prepare for post-lockdown. Issue Recovery Support Survey with the Council to gain further knowledge of how best to support levy payers out of lockdown and into recovery.

Transport & Travel
Work with the Council and public transport operators to ensure safe travel and support the Council’s Green Transport Recovery Plan.

Business Procurement
In partnership with Meercat, provide businesses with access to PPE materials and other products to assist with a safe reopening.

Preventing Crime
Confirm security team, delivered in partnership with SWL Security, as ongoing service based on a successful four-month trial.

Preventing Crime
Joint operation with Hampshire Constabulary to support city centre reopening w/c 15 June via patrols to deter crime/ anti-social behaviour.
Launch the Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP) in July.
The SBCP has now launched and levy payers are able to have free access to the DISC portal and hire out radios as part of the SBCP, find out more on our dedicated page here.

Business Events
Move our Urban Lecture Series online to facilitate continued discussion about the role of place making and the public realm in the city. Make considerations for our proposed September City Networking event.

Communication & Insight
Continue weekly e-bulletins. Provide guidance for levy payers to help them with the safe reopening of businesses and workplaces. Work with the Council to deliver a new footfall camera network in the city.

Transport & Travel
Work with the Public Transport Recovery Task Force on initiatives to promote sustainable travel e.g. securing increased cycle park provision.

Be Smart Stay Apart
Work with the Council to implement and promote new measures to support the city’s reopening funded via the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund. This includes the floor markers, digital assets and physical posters, designed by a local artist.

We have also created a dedicated consumer page on our Visit Southampton website, which provides updated information for residents and visitors coming into the city of what to expect and the measures put in place to make Southampton a safe place to come to.

Southampton Inside Out
Partner with the Council to increase and simplify opportunities for outdoor dining space in the city, to help mitigate the impact of social distancing requirements for hospitality businesses. Supporting survey distributed to relevant businesses to gain feedback and insight.

We have now made significant progress with this initiative, please head to our dedicated page here for updates.

Southampton From Your SOfa
Launch a digital hub for cultural venues across the city to promote online content to a wider audience. Aims to support & showcase the sector whilst venues are closed. Host content on visitsouthampton.co.uk

The #SotonFromYourSOfa pages have continued to be updated and promoted over the last three months, giving venues the platform to host their online content and events. We have also worked with three local artists to bring to life the campaign by designing artwork which represents the city and our diverse cultural offering. Read more here.

Public Art Project
Work with Solent Showcase Gallery and John Hansard Gallery to deliver a vibrant public art project through three phases. July: install existing artworks in the city. August: paint selected items of street furniture. September: install large-scale mural(s).

In addition, look to collaborate with local artists to create bespoke artwork for display in windows of vacant shop units.

Busking
Install busking pitches in the city for performances from local artists, to support Southampton’s music sector whilst live venues are closed.

The city centre busking project launched over August bank holiday weekend in partnership with SoCo Music Project and Solent University. Performances will run every Friday and Saturday until at least the end of the year (weather dependent). The aim of this project is to support local artists by giving them an alternative platform whilst many music venues remain closed. Read more here.

We have also supported The Grid Experience, created by ZoieLogic Dance Theatre which launched over August bank holiday weekend. Read more about the project here.

City Marketing
Deliver a destination marketing campaign to encourage and entice visitors and residents to return to the city for leisure, focusing on a combination of reassurance and inspiration.

In August we launched our ‘We’ve Missed You SO Much‘ consumer marketing campaign, in partnership with Southampton City Council, which welcomes people back to the city. The campaign targets those living in and around Hampshire offering reassurance that the city is a safe place to visit and is ‘still the same at heart’. Promotion has included digital display and Facebook advertising, outdoor media, radio advertising, print ads and a leaflet drop as well as the production of the campaign video.
The campaign was part-funded by the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

As part of this campaign, we promoted the Eat Out to Help Out scheme through a dedicated page and created a blog post for all the businesses who decided to extend the offer throughout September to give a further push. Read more here.

Linking Our Businesses Together For Mutual Support
Identify catering outlets willing to deliver to office-based businesses.

Urban Room
Collaborate with partners to bring to life a currently vacant site in the heart of the city centre turning it into a modern ‘Urban Room’.

Christmas 2020
Review options to deliver a – physical or virtual – safe and enjoyable Christmas lights switch-on experience, or alternative celebration, which will align with our UK City of Culture bid.

UK City of Culture
Work in partnership with the UK City of Culture bid team in order to develop the city’s commercial strategy which will underpin the delivery of the bid activity and programme.

On 17 September, the commercial strategy launched in Southampton and the first major sponsor, toob, was announced. Read the full story here.

Re:Claim Festival
A new festival taking place in May 2021, showcasing grassroots activities such as skate, music, art & performance.

Future High Streets Fund
Support Southampton City Council’s application of the Future High Streets Fund. The fund hopes to renew & reshape high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability.

Transforming Cities Fund
£57m Government funding to deliver sustainable and active travel initiatives in the Southampton City Region including significant transformation of the city centre. We assisted Southampton City Council with their successful funding application.

Other Useful Links

• For more details on the city centre’s reopening and how we’re supporting members click here.
• For more general details on COVID-19 funding and initial lockdown guidance go here.
• Read more about our Southampton Inside Out initiative visit our dedicated page here.

*Page last updated 5 October 2020.

New support/funding 2022

£1bn Government support package for businesses
At the end December the Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced an additional £1bn in funding support for businesses who are being impacted by the Omicron variant. Below we have outlined details of the support available, read the full press release here.

One-off grants
New £700million grant scheme for hospitality and leisure businesses in England. These will be based on rateable value of venues as follows:

• Rateable value of Less than £15,000 will receive £2,700
• Rateable value of £15,000 – £51,000 will receive £4,000
• Rateable value of over £51,000 will receive £6,000

These grants will be delivered by Southampton City Council, businesses do not need to council the Business Rates Team at this stage. The council will publish more information online, including applications forms on this page soon.

ARG top-up for local authorities
£100million top-up to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) will be given to local authorities to distribute as they wisht to businesses. Businesses who have already received support through the ARG and continue to meet the criteria will not need to resubmit and will be contacted directly from the council.

If you have not previously applied for the ARG, you will need to read the ARG Policy V6 and ensure you meet the general eligibility criteria before applying, as this budget is limited. One-off grants will be given to SME’s as listed in the policy and will be made within a 30-day cycle. Successful businesses will be informed and payments made by BACS until the scheme closes or the budget is exhausted. Apply here.

Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme reintroduced
The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) has been reintroduced to cover the costs of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for businesses with less than 250 employees . Employers can claim for the costs of up to two weeks per employee, with the two-week limit being reset so those who have already claimed under the previous scheme will still be eligible. Businesses can claim for Covid-related absences occruing from 21 December 2021 onwards and will be able to apply via this page from mid-January 2022, more guidance to follow.

£30 million for the Culture Recovery Fund
Government has provided an additional £30million into the Culture Recovery Fund to support theatres, gallery, museums and other cultural venues until March 2022.

Council update – business rates relief & grant funding

• Restart Grant Scheme – A new £5billion Restart Grant Scheme for businesses will replace old grant schemes. One-off grants of up to £6,000 for non-essential retail and up to £18,000 for hospitality, leisure, personal care and gyms. For more information including more specific eligibility and where to apply go to the council’s website here.
• Lockdown Grant Scheme (CLOSED)– One-off grants of up to £9,000 per property will be awarded to help businesses throughout the spring. Read more here, more details to follow.
• Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme (CLOSED) – businesses who have been forced to closed due to national restrictions can apply for the Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme through the Southampton City Council website to receive grants of between £1,000 and £3,000, depending on rateable value. Businesses who are closed but are providing takeaway/delivery services are still eligible for the grant.
• Business Rates for Retail, Hospitality, Leisure – businesses in the retail,  hospitality and leisure sectors will not have to pay business rates for the 2020-21 tax year. This reduction will be applied automatically to businesses’ bills by 1 April. If businesses have not received an amended bill by 3 April 2020 they should email business.rates@southampton.gov.uk
• Small Business Grant Funding (CLOSED) – the Government is providing additional funding to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBRR). This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs. Businesses can find out more and apply here
• Cash Grant for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (CLOSED)– businesses in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector will receive a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property. Businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000. Businesses with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000. Businesses can find out more and apply here
• Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund (CLOSED) – The scheme is offering grants of up to £10,000 to micro and small businesses who are not eligible for other Government grants. The Council will give priority to some business and will base their decision on local economic needs as well as the businesses turnover, number of employers and fixed property costs. This fund has now closed.

Government support 

The Government has a dedicated business support website as part of its coronavirus response – view it here. Support measures announced to date by the Government include the following (most recent and live schemes first):

• Recovery Loan Scheme – A new Recovery Loan Scheme to allow businesses of any size to apply for loans from £25,001 to £10million. If you have already received previous support through COVID-19 guaranteed loan schemes you can still apply for the Recovery Loan Scheme. The amount and length of the loan available will depend on the type of finance you apply for and the lender. For the list of accredited lenders go to the British Business Bank website here.
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CLOSED):  businesses can claim up to 80% of furloughed workers’ wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month (per employee). This scheme will be extended until 30 September 2021 and employees will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked. The Government will ask for a contribution of 10% in July and 20% in August and September from employers as businesses begin to reopen. To find out more go here.
• Business rates relief –The 100% business rate relief will be extended until the end of June 2021 and the remainder of the tax year will be reduced by two thirds. This is a £6billion tax cut for businesses. Read more here.
• Self-Employment Income Support Scheme: to help self-employed people to receive a grant of 80% of average monthly trading profits. The scheme will continue until 30 September 2021 and 600,000 more workers will be eligible provided they filed a tax return in 2019/2020. Find out if you’re eligible and apply here.
• VAT reduction – The Government will extend the 15% VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism industry until 30 September 2021 and an interim rate of 12.5% for another six months until April 2022. The New Payment Scheme will allow businesses who deferred their VAT bill to pay it back in smaller interest-free instalments (throughout 2021-22) rather than one lump sum payment at the end of March 2021. Read more here.
• ‘Help To Grow’ support for SMEs –A UK wide ‘Help to Grow’ programme to help small businesses develop digital and management skills by providing world-class training. The programme will be set up by Autumn 2021 but businesses can register their interest here.
• Apprenticeship incentives – Incentives for hiring new apprenticeships, regardless of age, will increase to £3,000. Read more here.

• Please note this scheme has been postponed until further notice. The Job Support Scheme: With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme) coming to an end on 31 October, a new Job Support Scheme has been announced, coming into effect from 1 November 2020 for six months. Under the new scheme, designed to support businesses and keep staff employed whilst demand may be low during the winter, employees working at least 20% of their usual hours will have some of their remaining wages topped up. All hours worked by an employee must be paid in full by the employer. Of the employee’s hours not worked, 5% will be paid by the employer and 66.67% by the Government. Find out more here. 

• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLOSED): offers loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank – the interest-free period on these loans has been extended to 12 months. Read more
• Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLOSED): helps support larger firms with an annual turnover of £45m or more. The scheme will be available through a series of accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website here. To apply for this scheme go here.
• Bounce Back Loan Scheme (CLOSED): much like the above offering small businesses up to £50,000 through a Government-backed loan from accredited lenders. Find out how to apply here.
• A statutory sick pay relief package for SMEs. Read more
• A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans. Read more
• The HMRC Time To Pay Scheme. Read more
• A ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent payments. Read more

For more details and the very latest information about specific support for businesses click here. Sign up for the Government’s specific business support email bulletins here.
You can read the full set of measures announced by the Chancellor in the 2021 budget on the Government website here.

In early December 2021, the Prime Minister announced that the nation would be moving into Plan B to help reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, in particular the new Omicron variant. You can read the full guidance of what you can and cannot do in Plan B here. 

NHS COVID-19 app
From 15 December 2021, NHS Covid Passes will need to be shown on entry to nightclubs and large-scale events. The pass should show vaccination status or a negative test result. Valid Covid Passes will be required in:

• All nightclubs, dance halls and discotheques, and any other venue that:
  – is open between 1am and 5am;
  – serves alcohol during this period;
  – has a dance floor or space for dancing to be used by members of the public; and,
  – provides music for dancing
• indoor events with 500 or more attendees where attendees are likely to stand or move around for all or part of the event;
• outdoor events with 4,000 or more attendees where attendees are likely to stand or move around for all or part of the event; and
• very large events with 10,000 or more attendees, irrespective of how many attendees are seated.

Face Coverings
From December 2021, face coverings are compulsory in most indoor settings (shops, banks, theatres, cinemas and other visitor attractions) and on all public transport, unless exempt. You can see the full list here. Please note, relevant businesses are now required by law to display appropriate signage to ensure customers are aware that they need to wear a face covering, read more here.

Social Distancing
From 19 July 2021, venues do not need to adhere to social distancing rules and can run at full capacity. However, businesses still can use measures such as spaced out tables or perspex screens if they wish. It is now up to the individual business to decide what is right for them.

General guidance for venues

The ‘Working safely during COVID-19’ Government guidance has been updated to give businesses information on best practice and how to operate from 19 July. The guidance includes six priority steps to take:

1. Complete a health and safety risk assessment
2. Turn people with COVID-19 symptoms away
3. Provide adequate ventilation
4. Clean more often
5. Enable people to check in at your venue
6. Communicate and train

Below are links to each guide; some organisations may need to refer to more than one:
The Visitor Economy – including accommodation providers and indoor and outdoor attractions
Hotels and Other Guest Accommodation – to be read in conjunction with the Visitor Economy guidance
Heritage Locations – including heritage attractions and various places/businesses that happen to be in a historic building setting
Close Contact Services – including hairdressers/barbershops, tattoo studios, tailors, nail bars, beauty salons and tanning booths
Offices and contact centres – current Government guidance states to work from home, where possible
Shops and branches– includes any type of retail shop, chemists, indoor and outdoor markets and car dealerships
Performing arts
Restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services
Construction and other outdoor work
Factories, plants and warehouses
Labs and research facilities
Other people’s homes
Providers of grassroots sport and gym/leisure facilities
Vehicles

Handling food
When handling food, businesses can refer to the Food Standard Agency’s website which has information on reopening and adapting food businesses. This guidance is advised to be used in conjunction with the above Government guidelines. There are pages on cleaning effectively in your business, food safety for food delivery and a reopening checklist.

Minimising Contact
Businesses can continue to minimise contact between customers and staff members. This could be done through the use of an ordering app, encouraging customers to pre-order online, having specific areas or zones for kitchen workers and limiting times at counters or collection points.

Outdoor dining
Southampton City Council’s Licensing Team and Hampshire Constabulary’s Police Licensing Team have released some specific guidance and best practice for hospitality businesses wishing to open from 12 April for outdoor dining. Please read the guidance here.

Risk Assessments
The Health and Safety Executive has produced guidance to help you work safely / be COVID-secure and manage the risk associated with running your business at this time. Find the full guidance here. It is not mandatory but it is strongly advised that businesses display this official poster in their shop window once they have completed the necessary steps. This will help reassure your customers. Our rangers have been distributing a COVID-secure poster that aligns to the overall ‘Be Smart, Stay Apart’ branding for businesses to display. This is complementary to the official poster and should not replace it. If you would like a copy of the poster please get in touch with us at
info@gosouthampton.co.uk

What has GO! Southampton done during the pandemic?

Supporting non-essential retail

Since March 2020 we have been working closely with Southampton City Council to prepare for the city’s reopening. Floor markers, designed by Local Artist Nathan Evans, have been installed outside of stores to assist with queue management. Other measures we have implemented/are implementing with the Council include:

• Floor arrows within the city centre to encourage a one-way flow of traffic
• Extra space for residents to walk and cycle more freely especially around busy bus stops
• Plentiful, secure and convenient cycle parking
• Enhanced street cleaning regimes for priority and high contact areas

We also produced business guidance for the retail sector prior to opening week which outlines key points to get your business COVID-secure, necessary risk assessment practice and effective queue management for customer-facing businesses. This will be applicable to those reopening after the January 2021 lockdown – view the document here.

Be Smart Stay Apart
For consumers, we’ve created a ‘Keeping Southampton Safe’ webpage on the Visit Southampton website, containing key information and advice to offer consumers reassurance about the measures being taken in the city centre. This will be updated to reflect the easing of lockdown restrictions Spring 2021.

Southampton Inside Out
We’ve been working with the Council and other stakeholders to explore how we can increase/simplify opportunities for outdoor space to be utilised for customer seating. Since July 2020 we have made significant progress and have worked with the Council on the Bedford Place/Carlton Place road closure pilot scheme, read more here. Find out more about our Southampton Inside Out initiative here.

If your business would like to explore outdoor dining opportunities so you can trade outside from 12 April please get in touch with Rebecca at rebecca.handley@gosouthampton.co.uk

Southampton From Your SOfa
Many cultural venues remain unable to open, with significant challenges around adhering to social distancing guidelines in a commercially viable way. Working in partnership with a range of cultural partners across the city we’ve launched ‘Southampton From Your SOfa’ – a digital hub of online content to showcase the city’s cultural sector its positive economic impact.

Content is hosted on our Visit Southampton website and we have commissioned four local artists to bring the campaign to life with support from Solent Showcase Gallery. We have also shared a partner toolkit for our members to help promote this initiative.

At GO! Southampton, we understand how hard things are for all our levy payers. The coronavirus outbreak has put tremendous pressure on any and every business in Southampton and we know it will be a long, hard road to recovery for businesses after what we hope is the third and final lockdown. We want our members to know that the BID team will continue to support them in whatever way we can.

How we have helped so far…

Supporting non-essential retail

Since March 2020 we have been working closely with Southampton City Council to prepare for the city’s reopening. Floor markers, designed by Local Artist Nathan Evans, have been installed outside of stores to assist with queue management. Other measures we have implemented/are implementing with the Council include:

• Floor arrows within the city centre to encourage a one-way flow of traffic
• Extra space for residents to walk and cycle more freely especially around busy bus stops
• Plentiful, secure and convenient cycle parking
• Enhanced street cleaning regimes for priority and high contact areas

We also produced business guidance for the retail sector prior to opening week which outlines key points to get your business COVID-secure, necessary risk assessment practice and effective queue management for customer-facing businesses. This will be applicable to those reopening after the January 2021 lockdown – view the document here.

Keeping Southampton Safe
For consumers, we’ve created a ‘Keeping Southampton Safe’ webpage on the Visit Southampton website, containing key information and advice to offer consumers reassurance about the measures being taken in the city centre. This will be updated to reflect the easing of lockdown restrictions Spring 2021.

Southampton Inside Out
We’ve been working with the Council and other stakeholders to explore how we can increase/simplify opportunities for outdoor space to be utilised for customer seating. Since July 2020 we have made significant progress and have worked with the Council on the Bedford Place/Carlton Place road closure pilot scheme, read more here. Find out more about our Southampton Inside Out initiative here.

If your business would like to explore outdoor dining opportunities so you can trade outside from 12 April please get in touch with Rebecca at rebecca.handley@gosouthampton.co.uk

Southampton From your SOfa
GO! Southampton has been working closely with cultural partners across the city to bring together a new campaign entitled Southampton from your SOfa. Utilising our B2C Visit Southampton platforms we have been working in collaboration to enable businesses in the city who are currently closed due to Government guidelines, be able to connect with their audiences online. The webpage features a whole host of activities, talks, gigs, concerts, interviews, exhibitions, webinars and more which sit within the arts, music, theatre, heritage and other cultural sectors. We understand the importance of the cultural sector in the city. Not only the vibrancy it brings, but also the positive impacts from an economic perspective.

We are promoting the page across our Visit Southampton social channels and would love if your business could get behind us and share our content. Please use the #SotonFromYourSOfa in any posts or communications. If your business is offering something that would fit into one of the categories on our pages then get in touch with us on info@gosouthampton.co.uk and we can add it to our channels.

City centre recovery plan
Our city-centre recovery plan recaps what we did from the first lockdown in March 2020 until December 2020 to support our levy payers, outlines our current recovery activity and future plans. View the plan on our recovery page here. A printed version of the plan was hand-delivered to our levy payers. In September we distributed our Autumn Newsletter – you can view it here.

Covid-19 Winter Plan
During the second lockdown in November, the team worked hard to adjust our priorities and projects to ensure they align with supporting levy payers during November and into Christmas. You can view the plan here. In December, before Christmas our team delivered our Winter Newsletter – you can view it here.

Spring Reopening 2021 Plan
You can view our latest city centre reopening plan here, to read more about the services and projects we are implementing to help with businesses and the overall city’s recovery.

City Reopening and Guidance for Members
We’ve been working closely with the Council to prepare for the city’s reopening, with initiatives including installing floor markers outside of stores to assist with queue management and increased pedestrianisation to aid social distancing.

You can also head to our reopening page here for some further guidance for specific sectors.

We’ve Missed You SO Much marketing campaign
In August 2020, in partnership with Southampton City Council, we launched a new Visit Southampton marketing campaign ‘We’ve Missed You SO Much’, welcoming people back to the city. The campaign targets those living in and around Hampshire who are familiar with Southampton and encourages them to return to the city, offering reassurance that it’s a safe place to visit and ‘still the same at heart’. Promotion included digital display and Facebook advertising, outdoor media, radio advertising, print ads and a leaflet door drop distribution, as well as the production of a campaign video. Campaign part-funded by the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

On 12 April, in line with Step 2 of the Government’s roadmap, we reignited the We’ve Missed You SO Much campaign with a new look and feel. We will continue our work on encouraging local residents and workers back into a safe city centre. This campaign will include digital and physical advertising including a leaflet delivered to every household in Southampton (117,000). We would love for all of our partners, stakeholders and businesses to help amplify the reopening messaging and share our assets across your channels (web, social and email). You can download our partner toolkit here which has a number of the ‘We’ve Missed You SO Much – Welcome Back’ assets to use. If you are able to point to our main landing page the URL is www.visitsouthampton.co.uk/somuch.

New to the campaign, we have created additional ‘We’re SO Open’ social media assets specifically for businesses who can open from 12 April (retail, outdoor hospitality, health, beauty) to share on their channels. We have created two versions, a lighter ‘daytime’ version and a purple ‘nighttime’ version which may be more fitting for the night-time economy/hospitality venues. Please tag Visit Southampton in your content and we can reshare your messaging.  Download the toolkit here.

Communications
We are working with Southampton City Council to ensure that businesses receive the best possible information on the current situation. We will be sending out regular email bulletins to all businesses on our database. As of December 2021, we have sent 85 business bulletins to our members. To register for updates, email info@gosouthampton.co.uk confirming you wish to subscribe. We also wrote to members on 18 March 2020 – you can view the letter here.

Marketing

• If you are a consumer-facing business get in touch with us at content@gosouthampton.co.uk  and we can discuss ways we can help promote your business on our Visit Southampton channels.
• If you would like to provide an offer to the SO card please email Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk. Find out more about the SO card here.
• If you have a listing on the Visit Southampton website and would like to amend the entry or update your opening times please email content@gosouthampton.co.uk
• If you have an event listed on the Visit Southampton website which has now been cancelled or postponed please edit the listing. If you have any queries or need assistance please email events@list.co.uk
• If you are a B2B business, we can also promote your event, service, offer or new through our GO! Southampton social media channels. Email us at content@gosouthampton.co.uk
• For social media updates, please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Our Services 

• Our ranger team – Debbi is continuing to support open businesses and reporting any environmental issues. You can contact Debbi at rangers@gosouthampton.co.uk
• Our security team will continue to patrol the BID area to support those essential retailers who remain open. They are helping to prevent and deter crime and anti-social behaviour, including working with Hampshire Constabulary to minimise the risk of commercial burglaries. As of 1 April 2021, the security team will be working 10am- 8pm Monday to Saturday and 11am – 5pm Sunday – and increase of 32 hours per week to help further support businesses. They can be contacted on 07725 737236.
• Our cleaners – Martin and Jim – will continue to provide extra cleansing services to our members, including jetwashing and graffiti removal. The team will now be focussing on spraying public furniture including benches, bins and fingerposts with disinfectant across the city centre. You can reach them via email at cleaning@gosouthampton.co.uk.
• We have recently launched our new waste recycling service with Southampton City Council. You can save up to 50% off your dry mixed recycling costs.  You can sign up or find out more by recycling@gosouthampton.co.uk.

Contact us
Email info@gosouthampton.co.uk or find contact details for individual team members here.