The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair, Martin McTague, recently spent a day in Salisbury to learn about the struggles local businesses face due to ongoing roadworks.
Ruth Lambert, an FSB development manager, accompanied Martin on the visit that took place on June 18.
Their meeting involved discussions about the challenges local traders face, including any considerations they might want new government officials to take into account if elected.
A recurring topic amongst these was the business rates, the need for expansion of the VAT threshold, and the climbing costs of operation.
One of the stops on the tour was to The Pickled Frog on Blue Boar Row, where the pair had lunch.
The café owner, Kevin Daley, expressed concerns over the importance of keeping cash payments as an option for his clientele, in light of the growing trend of card payments.
Kevin is soon to launch a five per cent discount scheme for customers choosing to pay with cash instead of card, due to start in July.
The tour progressed to The Old Fire Station on Salt Lane, which is a lively small business office that provides adaptable office spaces and meeting rooms.
Managed by Wiltshire Council, this office space is part of The Enterprise Network, and has played a role in helping over 20 businesses expand and flourish.
Martin and the FSB team used the networking area of this location for an informal discussion about prevalent small business problems.
Martin’s role as the national chair involves frequent meetings with central government to voice the needs of the small business community.
The Salisbury meeting allowed him to gather first-hand knowledge about the challenges local businesses are tackling, providing valuable case studies for advocating small business support across Wiltshire and the UK.
This visit to Salisbury is part of a national programme the FSB launched to enable such meetings, with the goal of lobbying the needs of small business owners.
This year, FSB is celebrating 50 years of such lobby work, with activities targeted towards small businesses' needs.
For further information about FSB and membership benefits, their website is fsb.org.uk.
Details about The Old Fire Station Enterprise Centre are available on theenterprisenetwork.co.uk.
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