Holywell voucher scheme sells out as customers flock to local businesses

A venture aiming to encourage locals to support Holywell businesses has achieved a sell-out with more than £4,000 injected into the local economy.

Holywell Town Council’s voucher scheme, where local residents would get £2 to spend for every £1 spent up to a limit of £20, saw a total of £4,025 pumped into the Holywell economy across the months of May and June, with more than 95 per cent of vouchers redeemed.

More than 100 residents purchased vouchers from the council under the system, with 15 businesses benefitting from the boost to footfall and sales.

One of the businesses to benefit from the scheme was salon Beauty by Beth, which saw an increase in regulars opting to select a wider range of services, as well as an expansion of its customer base through use of the vouchers.

Beauty by Beth owner Beth Mearns said: “This last year has been quite difficult for many businesses, including our own; we were still recovering from the salon being damaged in a fire when Covid hit and forced businesses to shut, so the voucher initiative has really helped us get back on our feet and regain those customers we may have missed before.

“Many of our regulars who purchased the vouchers ended up using them with us to treat themselves to an extra service outside of their regular treatments, so it was encouraging to have that additional support as well.

“We had at least five new customers become regulars and we’ve seen a steady increase in bookings and demand for services over the last couple of weeks.

“The voucher programme has been invaluable for the business.”

Jenny Edwards was one of Beauty by Beth’s new customers, spending her vouchers at the salon to receive a back, neck, and shoulder massage.

She said: “My partner and I both picked up vouchers and I decided to actively look for new places to visit, and Beauty by Beth seemed like a good place to try out as I had been looking for a local salon for some time.

“The service was excellent and as a result I’ve continued to book with Beth even once the scheme ended; I’ve also managed to convince my daughter to look into booking an appointment there too.

“It’s so important to back local businesses especially as we start to come out of the pandemic. We’ve seen too many shops close across the country over the last year, and this initiative was a brilliant way to find a new experience here in Holywell and help out a local company.”

A pair of butchers also saw an upturn in sales, with Danny’s Family Butchers and F.R. Kennedy & Son Butchers both benefitting from the campaign.

Mayor of Holywell Town Council Councillor Ted Palmer said: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has become clearer than ever how important backing our local businesses is and the overwhelming success of the voucher scheme is a testament to the wonderful spirit and support shown by the community to local owners.

“We would like to thank everyone who took part in the initiative, whether as a company owner or as a customer who has helped our town’s high street and surrounding shops. The Council are also considering plans to expand the scheme across neighbouring villages in the future.”

Holywell Town Council will continue to encourage shoppers to get out and support local businesses over the month of August through the running of a raffle, with the prize winners to be drawn by Cllr Palmer in September.

Customers who spend £5 or more at participating organisations throughout the town will be entered into the raffle, with prizes ranging from store vouchers to meat trays, a hydrating facial and pedicure, and a hamper packed full of local produce which has been donated by the town council.