‘Waving not drowning!’ Rising costs leave county’s small firms struggling behind the scenes, says business campaigner
Small businesses across the county continue to struggle behind the scenes due to surging operating costs and other mounting pressures.
Speaking at Lincolnshire County Council's Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday (January 28), Katrina Pierce, development manager for Lincolnshire at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), warned that small businesses across the county were 'waving not drowning'.
In her report, The Future of the High Street, she highlighted that business sentiment—reflecting optimism and attitudes about current and future economic conditions—has been low across the East Midlands for the past five years.
This has been compounded by recent announcements in the Chancellor's autumn budget, including a planned increase in national insurance contributions set to take effect in April.
Over recent years, the retail landscape on High Streets has undergone a significant shift, particularly in the city of Lincoln, where several stores have permanently closed, replaced by a wave of bars, restaurants, and cafés.
Katrina said: "The British High Street continues to evolve and has done since the days of market stalls and mongers of the middle-ages.
"They are not just places for transactions to take place, they are part of the cultural fabric of the UK and play a vital part in building and serving our local communities.
"Despite rumours of its death, the High Street and all that it means is alive but changing and significantly challenged. Not waving but drowning would perhaps be a good analogy.
"Quickly shifting consumer habits, technological advancements, environmental threats, increased remote working, fewer local commercial landlords, transport issues and of course the deep scars of the Covid-19 pandemic have all rapidly forced independent business to adapt in order to remain open and provide a local flavour to the High Street and provide employment opportunities for local people.
"That adaptation is becoming increasingly more expensive and challenging and the brick and mortar businesses that currently make up the centres of Lincolnshire’s villages, towns and the city of Lincoln need support to survive and thrive."
When asked by committee chairman Ian Carrington (Con) how small businesses were coping, Ms Pierce explained that the FSB conducts a Small Business Index every quarter, which provides an estimate of how optimistic businesses are about the economy and their own opportunities to prosper.
"For the last five years, and particularly the last year, that has been in minus territory," she stated.
Katrina argued that more targeted business support could help businesses diversify, offset some costs, retrain, and align their brick-and-mortar presence with an online offering.
Attached to the report was a list of proposed recommendations for local authorities. These included plans for district councils to introduce a 'High Street Hop' scheme, offering free bus fares on key routes through high streets during peak shopping days, and a policy to provide free parking on at least two Saturdays per month and two additional days each month.
The report also recommended that Lincolnshire County Council establish a Women's Enterprise Support Fund to boost female-led startups, foster inclusive growth in local high streets, and leverage procurement with high street and local businesses to support the local economy while enhancing social value goals.
Another recommendation called for both district councils and the county council to coordinate with BIDs, Tourism Boards, and LVEPs to provide free Wi-Fi coverage in priority high street areas.
After a lengthy discussion, members of the committee voted to endorse the report and expressed their satisfaction with the measures employed to support businesses in Lincolnshire.