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SHOP OWNER 'BLOWN AWAY' BY RESPONSE TO HIS STRUGGLES

- By ANDREW ROBINSON

A SHOP owner says he is "overwhelmed" after the community rallied to his desperate plea for help after he struggled to keep going.

Ant Gotts, who runs Handmade in Huddersfield in the Imperial Arcade, said "broken promises" had left him £10,000 down and he had been forced to lay off staff.

In a post on Facebook, Ant claimed Kirklees Council had previously "reassured me repeatedly" he would receive two grants, one for external signs and a second to cover the first 10 months' rent.

He claimed he had been told on the phone by the council that his shop unit had been reassessed and "would not be liable for business rates of the BID (Business Improvement District) levy".

He said: "That information turned out to be completely false."

Ant said both grants "fell through" and he then received "unexpected bills for business rates and the BID levy."

He added: "The council didn't even have the decency to inform me. I had to chase them, only to find out by chance that the funding 'wasn't happening now' because 'the council has no money.'

"No one contacted me to explain. No apology. Nothing. This happened to other businesses at a similar time - some have since closed.

"That decision - and those broken promises - left me over £10,000 down almost overnight and meant that several elements of my business plan, like marketing and an awning, became impossible. The knock-on effects have haunted me ever since."