‘This is about the livelihoods and businesses people have built up’

Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID) chief executive Lisa Carlson, pictured right, says the city is better prepared for the second lockdown but concedes it will be a very difficult month for business owners.

“It’s a huge blow for the city,” she said.

“I’d have liked to have seen more done so this didn’t happen. We desperately need an effective track and trace because then this wouldn’t be necessary – that’s what I’d like to see going forward. “Although you could see something coming it’s still a huge shock to the system for everyone.

“It’s not just protecting the NHS versus the economy. It’s much more complicated – this is about the livelihoods and businesses people have built up. “A lot of businesses make a lot of their money at Christmas – so this doesn’t just simply affect gift-giving, it’s affecting people’s livelihoods.”

It is not yet known if the city’s annual Christmas market will be going ahead this year, but Mrs Carlson says the festive spirit will still be alive. “Christmas is still happening; we can reimagine things as we have before,” she said. “The lights will still be going up.” In an effort to encourage people to support local shops, BID has introduced the Canterbury Gift Card, which can be used online as a prepaid Mastercard. More than 80 city businesses have signed up to the scheme, meaning shoppers have a wide range of goods available to purchase.

“We really need to urge people to shop locally online rather than using the likes of Amazon,” Mrs Carlson said.

“If we can get more people buying the card as opposed to generic online vouchers, it could literally save people’s livelihoods.

“It’s a great, easy gift for family, colleagues and teachers.” The card is now available to buy and pre-load at canterburygiftcard.co.uk