How Has COVID-19 Affected Louth Businesses?
Louth is the home to approximately 17,000 residents and is now the largest market town in East Lindsey District Council. Louth brings in many visitors due to its assortment of markets held within the town centre. A regular weekly market is held as well as monthly farmers markets and Christmas and Victorian Sunday market which are commonly a colossal hit with residents, businesses and visitors.
Disastrously, the impact of COVID-19 has damaged countless businesses globally, hitting smaller companies worse than larger ones. A large number of the businesses in Louth are SME’s and family-run. The government’s new tier system puts Louth in tier 3 and on the highest COVID alert, meaning a lot of these businesses have had to close their doors once again.
Louth town was once thriving and full of life, market days especially captivating consumers both residents of Louth or from surrounding areas.
If the market were to no longer exist an approximate of 20% of Louths businesses could fail.
Christmas Market
Louth Christmas market provides stalls for people young and old to enjoy; however, this iconic event was cancelled six months in advance due to the global outbreak, as the beloved event brought in people from all over Lincolnshire and social distancing and safety measures could not be guaranteed. Over 80 paying stallholders are unfortunately out of pocket at one of their busiest times of the year.
The market did provide not only stalls but also entertainment such as:
- Live music
- Food and drink
- Arts and crafts
- Meeting and greeting Santa Clause
However, not all hope is lost. Many of the independent makers and small business owners you can find at Louth Christmas Market have moved their stalls online. Take a look at your favourites on Twitter and Facebook where you may still be able to purchase some Christmas goodies from them.
Restrictions on businesses
As we are in an area experiencing an increasing number of infections, stricter regulations have been put in place to reduce the number of cases and keep everybody safe.
For example, in tier 3:
- Hospitality settings such as restaurants, pubs, cafes must close and are encouraged to continue formulating money by offering a take-away service or click and collect.
- Indoor entertainment centres must close, including cinemas, theatres, casinos and bingo halls.
- Indoor attractions must close, including zoos, theme parks and fairgrounds.
- Weddings and funerals are allowed; however, this is with a limited amount of people attending.
These are just a select few restrictions causing businesses to make massive changes to how they operate, in some cases preventing them from operating altogether.
Due to Louth being a market town and relying heavily on people travelling from the surrounding areas to visit our popular attractions, being unable to do so has significantly reduced the revenue generated by businesses. On account of this, smaller companies are struggling to not only make a profit but more so breakeven. If you’re struggling and need assistance with your accounts or understanding the government help available, contact me today.
