BUSINESSES which pay a levy to Poole Business Improvement District (BID) have been told it will be deferred for at least eight weeks.

The BID is also pointing businesses to advice on issues such as human resources, hiring staff and accessing government funding.

It has deferred its levy payment for an initial eight weeks from April 1, with “regular reviews and an extension of this period if necessary”.

Dan Hurley, chairman of Poole BID, said: “COVID-19 is impacting everyone and we want to reassure our local BID business community that we will continue to support them through these unprecedented times in whatever way we can.

“Any business is going to struggle through this prolonged uncertainty so we want to defer our levy bill payments for as long as we can. We also know that ensuring that all businesses – large or small – can access the available support is going to be crucial to keeping them afloat, and we would strongly urge anyone that needs more information to contact us as soon as possible.

“Keeping everyone safe and well is a priority for Poole BID, but helping to ensure they can protect their jobs and businesses is also something we are committed to continuing over the coming weeks and months.”

Levy payers wanting support can email info@poolebid.com, with more information at poolebid.com