High Streets support
High streets are home to thousands of Surrey businesses – and we want them to thrive.
Find support to grow your high street business.
About support for High Street businesses
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 all high street businesses. This includes the High Street Growth and Innovation Programme, launching in February 2026.
Several areas also have Business Improvement Districts, which are independent business-led organisations.
You also can discover current live available funding opportunities on our Funding and Grants page.
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.
It will include:
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In-person business engagement
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Free practical workshops
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Business toolkits and resources
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Tailored support
Register for the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation via the Smarter Society form (external).
Who is eligible for the High Street Growth and Innovation Programme?
The High Street Growth and Innovation 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
Teams from the programme will be out and about in more than 20 locations throughout spring 2026 to meet businesses. A series of workshops will also take place.
For a full list of engagement and workshop sessions visit the High Streets support programme story in our news section.
Not sure where to start? Get in touch with our team via the Contact Us page.
Contact us
Business Improvement Districts
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are communities of individual businesses.
Those in the designated BID zone 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.
Surrey has a number of active BIDs which make a big contribution to their towns.
The areas with active BIDs are:
- Camberley
- Caterham
- Cobham
- Cranleigh
- Dorking
- Epsom
- Farnham
- Godalming
- Guildford
- Leatherhead
- Oxted
- Staines on Thames
- Walton on Thames
- Weybridge
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.