Eye and Needham Market virtual high streets to help Covid recovery

Sudbury is one of the areas already said to have benefitted from the 'virtual high streets' project

A series of dedicated websites aimed at boosting independent businesses in parts of Suffolk is to be expanded.

The "virtual high streets" scheme will see digital town centres launched in Eye and Needham Market.

The project was originally set up for Sudbury, Hadleigh and Stowmarket in Babergh and Mid Suffolk.

Mid Suffolk District Council's Gerard Brewster said the project would help businesses recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic.

The online high streets give the location, opening hours, offers and contact details of the area's independent firms.

• 'Uplifting' art project aims to transform town

• The shops with a total of nearly 1,000 years of trading

• Empty shop numbers rise as Covid continues to bite

A total of 152 businesses have already signed up in Sudbury, 65 in Hadleigh and 80 in Stowmarket.

Mr Brewster, the authority's Cabinet member for economic growth, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the project has "already been a huge benefit to businesses".

"By launching these virtual high streets, alongside the support offered through our digital skills programme, we can support our businesses and communities to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic by helping them to grow online as well as encouraging more customers onto our high streets," he said.

Chairman of Stowmarket Chamber of Commerce, Colin Tapscott, said rolling out the websites to other towns "would be an advantage".

He added it was about "tying the whole town together, not just the high street itself".

The new pages will be launched in autumn.