Kirkwall BID’s board of directors have made the decision to suspend all levy payments for the next six months. The news comes as Kirkwall’s business community faces crisis in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The levy payments, which fund BID’s activity, were due to be invoiced in the coming weeks. Instead no invoices will go out and the situation will be reviewed in six months, at which point the decision will be made as to whether to bill for the second half of the year.
Chair of Kirkwall BID, Duncan McLean said “We've been scrambling to support town centre businesses in this extremely challenging and fast-moving crisis. One way we can save our members money immediately is by cancelling the collection of the BID Levy for the next six months. We will continue to promote the wonderful local business community over the spring and summer, in low-budget ways. And we'll look forward to the town springing back to full life at the end of this difficult period.”
Kirkwall BID would like to urge all members of the community to support local businesses at this difficult time. Many businesses have already made alternative arrangements to offer delivery services or take payment and orders over the phone. Follow Kirkwall BID’s social media channels to keep up to date with changes to business opening hours and tips on how to support local.
