Following the latest Government advice and announcement of new national lockdown restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, Make It York will be implementing a number of measures to ensure the continued safety of our staff, residents, Shambles Market traders and visitors at this time and to comply with the latest advice given:
- The Make It York team continue to be in regular contact with members, traders and other key stakeholders across the city to provide ongoing updates as and when they become available. The team are continuing with remote working, as previously, and are contactable by email. We continue to provide support to members and businesses across the city and all enquiries regarding the business support available can be emailed through to business@makeityork.com and any Visit York membership queries can be sent to membership@makeityork.com.
- The Visitor Information Centre has temporarily closed until further notice. An email service will still be available to customers via info@visityork.org and the visityork.org website will continue to be updated with the latest information.
- From today (5th January 2021) Shambles Market will be open for traders of essential goods only until further notice. All traders have been contacted by the team with further details and the york-markets@makeityork.com email will continue to be monitored during this time for any queries. A member of the Markets Team will also be on site when the market is open and trading. All the latest information on Shambles Market Traders will be updated here
- The Make It York events which are held each year in January and February – York Residents Festival and the York Ice Trail – will be unable to go ahead in 2021 due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and the need to keep the city centre space safe for all. To continue to support businesses during this time, a new #LoveYork campaign is set to launch this January to celebrate York’s unique offer and the array of independent businesses, attractions and retailers in the city. The campaign will promote a ‘shop local’ message and will aim to inspire people to return to the city when it is safe to do so. Further details on this and how businesses can get involved will follow shortly.
- We continue to support businesses across the city through the promotion of the ‘York at Home’ hub – featuring inspirational content to allow people to virtually experience what the city has on offer, and through our online food and drink and shopping hubs showcasing restaurants and venues offering takeaway and / or delivery and online delivery options for retailers. We will have more new initiatives to support businesses during lockdown coming soon too – watch this space.
Sean Bullick, Managing Director at Make It York, said: “These new national lockdown restrictions will undoubtedly create significant challenges for businesses across all sectors in the city, however Make It York continue to support businesses and provide guidance throughout this period of unprecedented uncertainty, alongside our partners at City of York Council and York BID.
“Whilst we’re disappointed that we are moving back into tighter national measures and will be unable to hold our traditional Residents Festival and Ice Trail events next year, safety has to be absolutely paramount. Plans are already underway to bring both of these popular events back to the city in 2022 – bigger and better than ever – and work is going on behind the scenes on a new and exciting #LoveYork campaign to celebrate our unique city and the incredible diversity of York’s businesses.
“The safety of our staff, residents, visitors and traders is of paramount importance and whilst this is an immensely difficult time for all, it’s vital we all work together to support our local businesses and ensure York is in the best place to recover and build back better. York has such a strong foundation upon which to build, and whilst there will no doubt be challenges ahead, we remain optimistic about 2021 and the positive opportunities that are on the horizon for our city if we continue to innovate and work closely together.
“We’d like to thank all our members, partners and traders in advance for their continued support and understanding once again during this challenging time.”
More information about the business support available can be found here: https://www.makeityork.com/business-support-advice/coronavirus-business-support/
ENDS
Notes to Editor
Make It York
Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, festivals and events, business support and inward investment.
One of Make It York’s strategic aims is to promote York as a brilliant place to do business, helping to support business growth and innovation across a range of business sectors, such as financial & professional services, rail and high value manufacturing and to stimulate greater inward investment.
For further information please contact:
Amy Goodman – Consumer Communications Manager
Email: amy.goodman@makeityork.com
Ana Ignatova – Communications Executive
Email: ana.ignatova@makeityork.com
