Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the country’s lockdown on 23rd March, the BID Board made the difficult decision to furlough their City Ranger.
The City Ranger’s role is varied, but his primary role is to engage and communicate with businesses, providing them with any support and information they may require.
With most of the BID’s levy payers closed or working from home, the City Ranger’s role became temporarily redundant. But now non-essential retail and the hospitality sector is reopening, Andy is back to work on a part-time basis.
The City’s Ranger’s role includes:
Andy is easily identifiable in his bright blue polo top with the Salisbury BID logo on the chest. He can be seen driving around the city centre in an electric vehicle, named “Gordon”.
Andy is very approachable and loves to share his knowledge of Salisbury with the public. Andy loves to help, so please stop and speak to him if you have a question for him.
Although Andy has been furloughed from his City Ranger role, he hasn’t been at home twiddling his thumbs. In his spare time Andy is a trained CCTV operator, so he’s spent many hours volunteering to help keep Salisbury safe.
Robin McGowan, Chief Executive of Salisbury BID, said: “It’s easy to forget that the BID isn’t a statutory organisation and we don’t have guaranteed funding. We’re funded by businesses through an annual levy, and like many other businesses, our income has been put at risk due to the pandemic and economic crisis.
“We’ve had to make some really difficult financial decisions to ensure the BID’s funds are best spent in the short term whilst collection of this year’s levy is understandably delayed as businesses reopen. Businesses need the support of the BID and we have an important role to play in the city’s recovery.”
In partnership with VisitWiltshire, Salisbury BID co-fund the Visit Salisbury website to promote the city to visitors. The Visit Salisbury website has a full events calendar for Salisbury.
