Councillors invite questions from Waverley businesses at annual meeting

Waverley Borough Council collects £36 million in business rates and is currently allowed to keep 5% for investment in local infrastructure and services that support the borough’s economy. The remainder is distributed to Surrey County Council (10%) and central government (85%).

As the country emerges from what has been a tough two years, local businesses are invited to attend the Annual Business Meeting on 2 March so they can inform Waverley councillors and officers about what steps they think the council should take to support business in the future.

The online meeting will open with a presentation about Waverley’s budget and business rates for 2022/23. This will be followed by an update from Surrey County Council about Gigabit infrastructure plans for Surrey and specifically within Waverley. The final presentation will be from Amanda Masters who is the Chief Executive of Experience Guildford. She will speak about Guildford’s Business Improvement District and share lessons learned.

After the presentations, attendees will be invited to take part in an open discussion about how Waverley can prioritise its economic development activities to help those businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. 

Councillor Liz Townsend, Waverley Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development says: “Over 8,000 businesses have chosen to locate in Waverley, and we are ambitious to do everything we can to support a strong and sustainable local economy. 

“Part of this support includes giving financial backing to a project which will see some of the largest settlements in the borough, including Farnham, Godalming and Cranleigh, embark on the Business Improvement District (BID) process. We’ve paid for an initial feasibility study and have pledged a further minimum of £10,000 to each of the areas to help cover some of the initial costs. If businesses decide they wish to support the BID, this will give them the power to raise and spend funds locally with the aim of improving their own business environment.”

The Annual Business Meeting will start at 9.30am and will conclude at 11am. Please register online and to send any questions/comments in advance, please email business.support@waverley.gov.uk.