SHOPPERS are being encouraged to use their £100 High Street Voucher to support local, independent businesses who were hit hardest during the lockdown periods.
The scheme, which opens for applications from today, Monday, will see every adult in the North entitled to the voucher which is intended to give the local economy a much needed boost.
The application process will initially involve an online portal with a telephone application line opening on 11 October for those without access to the internet. Applications for the scheme will close on 25 October.
With around 1.4 million people expected to apply for their Spend Local card, the portal is expected to be extremely busy in the days after it opens next week.
The first cards are expected to be distributed on the week commencing 4 October and shoppers will have until 30 November to spend the cash.
For verification purposes in order to reduce the risk of fraud and error, each applicant will be asked to provide:
- name;
- address;
- age;
- gender;
- disability status;
- national insurance number;
- email address; and
- telephone number
Erin Copeland, manager of Sandra’s Nursery Corner on the Shore Road said that the scheme will help keep local people in jobs.
“This scheme will bring money into the local economy and help keep local people employed if it is spent in local, independent stores.
“It will keep a lot of local businesses ticking over and it will definitely give our business a boost after being closed for such a long period of time.
“Sadly nursery stores were not seen as essential but we tried our best to keep things going and this will definitely help out.”
