Forest of Dean District Council teams up with the FSB to offer discounted memberships
3 September 2020
The Forest of Dean District Council has revealed a new partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to help firms across the district recover from the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.
The partnership aims to give smaller businesses - particularly those based in the district’s town centres and larger villages - access to support to get firmly back on their feet.
A recent survey of local town centre businesses showed that although over two thirds had a website, only 23 per cent of these were transactional and able to take bookings or payments online.
Cllr Bernie O’Neill said: “As a Council, we are committed to supporting local businesses, and this is no more important than in these uncertain times. By partnering with the FSB, we are able to direct our district’s small business owners directly to the FSB’s key resources which can help them to adapt quickly to a changing marketplace.
“From social media training, virtual networking and even support in finding sustainable finance there’s support on offer that can really help businesses not only to survive, but to thrive in the post-Covid economy.”
Sam Holliday, Gloucestershire Development Manager for the FSB, said “The FSB team are delighted to be working with Forest of Dean District Council to help the small business community.
“The Forest of Dean is a fantastic, vibrant area for small businesses and we are proud to already have hundreds of FSB members across the Forest. This scheme will allow even more great SMEs to join our ranks and get our unrivalled benefits such as 24-7 legal support, vital tax investigation support and many more important resources. We are also very pleased to be working alongside the Forest of Dean District Council on this scheme as we have always found them to be a supportive organisation who are determined to work with and support their small business community.”
