Covid-19 : Otley Says ‘Welcome Back’

Thank you for your feedback

Firstly, we’d like to thank you for taking the time to reply to our recent ‘Returning to Work Post-Lockdown’ Questionnaire which gave us some insight into the type of support and PPE you need to help you to re-open your business safely.

We had a total of 74 responses out of a possible 383, but the results were very clear, as follows:

• You don’t need additional guidance on social distancing
• You don’t need HR advice on bringing staff back to the workplace
• You do need some form of PPE, namely Face Masks and Hand Sanitiser.
• Those businesses who have been open during lockdown gave some really helpful advice such as strictly enforcing social distancing, restricting the number of people within shops (total dependent upon size of shop) or putting a barrier up in smaller shops whereby staff collect the goods for each customer, and finally gaining customer confidence by managing expectations through clear signage and instruction.

Creating a plan to re-open Otley safely!

We have therefore, taken all your comments on board and by working with the teams at Otley Town Council, Visit Otley, the Ward Councillors and Otley Chamber of Trade we have created a:

Covid-19 Business Support Pack
and a
#StaySafeInOtley Marketing Campaign

Who is eligible to receive the Covid-19 Business Support Pack?

• Phase 1 – this initial pack is available to those essential services who have been open throughout lockdown, and those retail businesses who have been allowed to open between 1st and 15th June.
• Phases 2/3 – once the next phase of openings are announced by the Government, we will produce further supplies of Support Packs, eg. for hairdressers, barbers, beauty therapists, physios, pubs etc. This will be announced in the next few weeks as soon as we have more information. If in the meantime, you feel that you have any specific requirements, please email us at info@otleybid.co.uk.

What is included in the Covid-19 Business Support Packs?

The Covid-19 Business Support Packs (worth up to £100 each) are available FREE OF CHARGE to all Otley BID Members who are either already open or due to open in June, and will include the following (see visuals below):

• 2 x cotton face coverings – washable at 60 degrees
• 1 x roll of ‘social distancing’ floor tape – 33 metres
• 1 x 5 litre container of hand sanitiser + pump
• 1 x 500ml bottle of hand sanitiser + pump (for decanting into and re-using)
• 1 x signage pack (1 of each poster). The ‘Maximum xx persons at a time please’ poster enables you to write in the number of people you can safely invite into your shop at any one time and maintain the 2m social distancing
• 1 x Staying Covid-19 Secure Poster.

How do I collect my Support Pack?

You can collect your Support Pack from Otley Town Council’s offices (The Core, Unit 11 Orchard Gate, Otley LS21 3NX) and we ask if you would kindly:

• Please observe the 2m social distancing guidelines
• If there is someone already in The Core please wait patiently outside
• You will be asked to pick up your pack quickly and complete a short form & disclaimer to say that you have collected your items and giving us your name, business name, email address and telephone number which will be added to our mailing list for future communications.

When are the collection dates?

• Thursday 11th June between 8am – 2pm
• Friday 12th June between 10am – 2pm
• Monday 15th Jun between 8am – 2pm

Here’s what’s included within each Covid-19 Business Support Pack:

Other ways we are supporting you!

As well as the above Covid-19 Business Support Pack and #StaySafeInOtley Marketing Campaign, you will probably aware that throughout lockdown we have also been supporting our businesses in various ways:

• Regular Government updates via our social media, website and email
• Liaising with Leeds Council and helping businesses claim their grants
• ‘Otley Providing Essential Services‘ directory of businesses open during lockdown over a 2 month period via our website and social media
• #OtleyOpenForBusiness – daily promotional posts over a 2 month period on the Visit Otley and Otley BID social media platforms
• The resurrection of the website www.buyinotley.co.uk and the creation of an ongoing directory of businesses.

In addition to this we have now created the following additional support:

• A new ‘Welcome Back to Otley’ video featuring many different businesses around the town (see a selection of screen grabs above). The key messages are #StaySafeInOtley and #BeKindInOtley to help create a positive message that Otley is a safe place to come and shop and visit. We would be grateful if you can share this video both on your business and personal social media platforms once it is published on Visit Otley’sFacebook page.
• A new ‘Welcome Back to Otley’ newsletter which is being circulated to all Otley households, businesses and the surrounding areas w/c 22nd June
• Finally, we will be attaching the #StaySafeInOtley messages to the red & white barriers you will have seen throughout town to enable social distancing.

The total cost for this support is in excess of £20,000. The funding for this has come from a joint collaboration between ourselves, we have contributed two thirds of the funding, and Otley Town Council and our Ward Councillors who have contributed the remaining third.

We appreciate this is a lot of money but we feel that it is the best way to both support our members in re-opening safely and efficiently, and building confidence with our residents and the general visiting public by promoting the town as a safe place to shop and visit.

Remember to complete your Risk Assessment before opening!

The Government’s guidance for operating safely applies to those retail businesses currently open AND those who are currently closed but due to re-open on 15th June. This will help you to consider what your operation needs to look like when you begin to trade again.

In case you may have missed it, here’s the link to the Government Guidance on Re-opening:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb9703de90e07082fa57ce0/working-safely-during-covid-19-shops-branches-v1.1-250520.pdf

And the Risk Assessment document which is required to be completed prior to re-opoening – https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/index.htm.

Once the Risk Assessment has been completed and provisions put in place, you are then able to open and display the ‘Staying Covid-19 Secure‘ poster in your workplace. We will also be providing a copy of this poster within your Business Support Packs in case you haven’t got access to a printer or you haven’t yet managed to print it out.

We are here to help!

Thank you to everyone who have sent messages of thanks to us over the lockdown period, it really is much appreciated. It’s a difficult time for everyone and we are all doing our best to cope in whatever ways we can. But please remember that we are here to help, please contact us either on email to info@otleybid.co.uk, or via our social media platforms (Facebook or Twitter).

Let’s work together to #BeKindInOtley and most importantly #StaySafeInOtley.

Best wishes
Rachelle Atkin – Otley BID Champion
Otley Business Improvement District Ltd