John Culatto
PLANS to make Main Street ‘more attractive’ to shoppers are already underway between local businesses and a new government minister.
Minister for Business Gemma Arias Vasquez met the newly established Main Street Retail Board recently to listen to their concerns, the government said in a statement.
They vowed to work together to improve what Gibraltar has to offer on a quarterly basis after the successive crises of Brexit and COVID-19.
The initiative follows the failed Business Improvement District (BID) plan that the government was committed to following.
Arias Vasquez is a former chairperson of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, making her feel very much at home in this environment.
‘It was a pleasure to meet with the Main Street Retail Board for the first time to listen to and understand their concerns and explore ideas and opportunities moving forward,” she said.
“The purpose of these boards is to ensure that we are listening to the voices which are present daily in Main Street and making improvements based directly upon their recommendations.”
The BID project that was planning to market Gibraltar abroad and improving signage locally to make the shopping experience more vibrant and accessible.
But a large number of businesses failed to agree to the initial payments in late 2022 and the whole plan fell apart when the BID team folded in January 2023.
Main street traders will meet four times a year to speak about these plans from now on, the government added in the statement.
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