Be part of the biggest day of the year for small businesses

December 1, 2015 by Southend Borough Council

Be part of the biggest day of the year for small businesses

Friday 27th November 2015

Southend residents are being urged to flock to their local shops, restaurants and other local operators as part of a national initiative to boost small businesses.

Southend-on- Sea Borough Council are supporting Small Business Saturday UK campaign on 5th December 2015 - a campaign promotes small businesses by encouraging residents to shop local’.

As part of the campaign, the Council have joined up with the Genting Club in Westcliff-on-Sea to host a Best Festive Business competition, where prizes will be given to those businesses who have made a special effort to decorate their businesses and offer an incentive to their customers on the day.

A prize will be available for each of the following areas:

• Eastwood
• Leigh-on-Sea
• Southchurch
• Southend-on-Sea
• Thorpe Bay/Shoeburyness
• Westcliff-on-Sea

Also, as part of Small Business Saturday, there will be free all-day parking on offer at the following Council car parks:

• Ilfracombe Avenue
• North Road
• Hamlet Court Road
• Elm Road, Leigh
• North Street
• Ceylon Road
• Thorpe Bay Broadway

Councillor Ian Gilbert, Deputy Leader of the Council said: “We are very proud to be supporting Small Business Saturday UK for third year running. I urge as many residents and visitors to take up the offer of free parking to shop locally.

“This annual event is now gaining real momentum and I look forward to seeing as many local business as possible taking part in the Best Festive Business competition.”

To enter into the competition, businesses should email economicd@southend.gov.uk to register and then either send their photos to the same address or post their festive photo via @businessonsea on twitter using #XmasBizonSea.

Further information can be found at the Small Business Saturday official website at www.smallbusinessaturdayuk.com to sign up for a free pack of promotional material and get your day kick-started.