High streets support for businesses

Supporting independent high street businesses across Surrey

Surrey has hundreds of high streets across the county, with thousands of small and medium businesses acting as a hub for their communities.

We provide fully-funded support to high street businesses via our Business Surrey service.

This includes the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation Programme launching in February 2026.

Several areas also have Business Improvement Districts, which are independent of local government.

High Street Growth and Innovation Programme

The Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation Programme is a county‑wide initiative funded by our Economic Growth Fund to support independent businesses across the whole of Surrey.

The programme is designed to strengthen independent high street and town‑centre businesses by offering free, practical, and locally tailored support across Surrey high streets.

We've commissioned Smarter Society and The Retail Group to deliver the programme in spring 2026.

Complete the short form to register for the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation scheme.

Who Can Take Part?

The programme is open to any business on a Surrey high street. This includes:

Independent retail and service‑based businesses
Start‑ups and early‑stage ventures
Pop‑ups and market traders
Charities, CICs, mutuals and cooperatives

What the Programme Offers

In-person business engagement
- The outreach team will meet business owners face‑to‑face to share information about the free business support on offer, register businesses for upcoming workshops, gather valuable local insights and answer any questions.
- A full list of dates is available on the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation Programme page of the Business Surrey website.
Free practical workshops
- Join practical, high‑impact workshops delivered locally in each district. Designed specifically for independent retailers and service‑based businesses.
- These sessions help local business owners:
  - Attract more customers and boost footfall
  - Improve in‑store and online visibility
  - Increase customer spend
- Workshops are delivered by experienced specialists from The Retail Group and sessions are held in accessible high street locations across Surrey.
- The workshop schedule is available on the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation Programme page of the Business Surrey website.
Business toolkits and resources
- Participants gain access to a suite of practical High Street Business Toolkits including
  - Downloadable guides
  - Templates and checklists
  - Short explainer videos
- Downloadable resources will be available online soon via the High Streets page of the Business Surrey website.
Tailored support
- We know not all businesses can attend in person, so the programme is designed to offer multiple ways to engage with the content, including:
  - In‑person workshops at convenient, local venues
  - Live virtual attendance via broadcast
  - On‑demand recordings available to watch at any time
  - Ongoing access to resources through the Business Surrey website
  - 1‑to‑1 support, where appropriate, for businesses needing tailored guidance

Business Improvement Districts

A Business Improvement District (BID) is made up of communities of individual businesses. They recognise that having BID status delivers benefits and improvements to their local economies.

A BID is a designated zone (BID Area) in which businesses (BID Levy Payers) pay an extra charge in addition to business rates.

This allows them to benefit from a wide range of additional services over and above those funded through the standard commercial rates and council services.

There is no limit on what projects or services can be provided through a Business Improvement District.

The only requirement is that it should be something that is in addition to services provided by local authorities. Improvements may include extra security, cleansing, events and environmental measures.

BIDs each have individual aims, decided by their member businesses. However they all have an underlying aim. This is to provide residents, workers and visitors with clean, safe, vibrant and attractive places, where events, culture and arts are represented and visible.

Anyone can propose a BID. But approval is dependent on a ballot of businesses within the designated zone. For full details, visit the BID page on the government website.

Business Improvement Districts in Surrey

Surrey has a number of active BIDs which make a big contribution to their towns.

The areas with active BIDs are:

Members of Surrey BIDs are a mixture of retail, hospitality, professional services, education providers, public service providers and service industries. They range in size from start-up micro businesses to multinationals.

BIDs provide employment, goods, services and entertainment for their areas.

They have a keen focus on representing their members in supporting.

They also promote the sustained success and vitality of Surrey’s town centres and their local economies.