Support Local website providing lockdown lifeline for Harrogate businesses

Support Local is the brainchild of town centre-based Millennia Cloud Services which has brought together more than 100 local businesses and their lockdown offers.

The free-listings site features firms offering everything from garage services and groceries, to meals and milk delivery.

And with sights now set on a journey out of lockdown, company director Carolyn Hustwayte is urging shoppers to do whatever they can to support small businesses which have been hit the hardest.

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"If we don't look after Harrogate, there won't be a Harrogate left," she said.

"We felt a bit helpless and wanted to try do our bit to help in whatever way we could. Businesses which have stayed open have been advertising their services in all sorts of different places, so we just tried to collate everything into one place.

"A lot of small independent businesses don't have an online presence, so if we can help get their message out there, it is great.

"The more businesses that use the website the better, but so far the feedback has been brilliant."

Millennia is a cloud service provider which hosts ticketing software for football clubs, theatres and tourist attractions.

The company usually oversees around 25 million ticket transactions every year, but it is now seeing the hard-hitting impact of the coronavirus first-hand with its clients' sales plummeting.

"The whole hospitality and leisure industry has been terribly affected - and we host some venues which may never open again," Carolyn said.

"There has been very little activity on our servers as the general public stops going to events like football games, but we have of course had to keep them maintained."

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Carolyn and her team have added businesses to the Support Local website themselves - but they need firms to 'claim' their free ads with more details and pictures to make it a success.

"During this difficult time with the covid-19 crisis it will help your community to keep getting what it needs, and help keep businesses running so that once we emerge they are still be there to serve", the website says.

Businesses can list their products, opening times and social media details to make it easier to reach their customers.

And as the district heads for a phased reopening of its economy, Carolyn is urging shoppers to think of small, struggling firms who need the most help getting back on their feet.

"We need to spend in Harrogate and not with the massive chains," she said, "I personally will be changing my shopping habits after discovering all these small businesses on our website - and I hope others do too."

There is no fee to be listed and business owners should get in touch at www.supportlocal.org.uk