The High Street Support and Innovation Programme will support hundreds of small and medium businesses in Surrey’s town and villages. Find out how you can get involved with this fully-funded scheme, which is running this spring.
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.
It covers all corners of Surrey with dedicated sessions in 22 locations across all 11 district and boroughs in Surrey. And it offers free, practical and locally tailored support across Surrey high streets.
It’s been developed with representatives from district and borough councils plus Business Improvement Districts representatives.
We’ve commissioned Smarter Society and The Retail Group to deliver the programme in spring 2026.
It will include:
- In-person business engagement
- Free practical workshops
- Business toolkits and resources
- Tailored support
Register for the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation via the Smarter Society form (external).
Who can take part in the High Street Growth and Innovation programme?
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
Register for the Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation via the Smarter Society form (external).
What does the High Street Growth and Innovation programme offer?
- In-person business engagement
- The Smarter Society outreach team is currently visiting high streets across Surrey meeting business owners face‑to‑face.
- Scroll down to see the full list of engagement sessions
- Free practical workshops
- Join practical, high‑impact workshops delivered locally in each district. Designed specifically for independent retailers and service‑based businesses
- Scroll down to see the full schedule of workshops
- 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 our Resources page.
- Participants gain access to a suite of practical High Street Business Toolkits including
- 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
- We know not all businesses can attend in person, so the programme is designed to offer multiple ways to engage with the content, including:
Engagement sessions
The High Street Support and Innovation programme will see teams from Smarter Society visit high streets across Surrey.
They will meet business owners face‑to‑face to share information about the free business support on offer. They will also register businesses for upcoming workshops, gather valuable local insights and answer any questions.
The dates are:
- Redhill – 10 February
- Oxted – 16 February
- Reigate – 17 February
- Walton – 17 February
- Esher – 18 February
- Guildford – 19 February
- Leatherhead – 23 February
- Dorking – 24 February
- Caterham – 2 March
- Guildford – 4 March
- Camberley – 4 March
- Chertsey – 5 March
- Egham – 17 March
- Ashford – 18 March
- Farnham – 19 March
- Woking – 24 March
- Epsom – 25 March
- Godalming – 26 March
- Staines – 3 April
Workshop Schedule
Four workshops will be held in all 11 district and boroughs in Surrey. These sessions will help local business owners to:
- 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.
Tandridge
- Oxted – 24 February (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Caterham – 9 April (Workshops 3 & 4)
Reigate & Banstead
- Redhill – 18 February (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Reigate – 25 February (Workshops 3 & 4)
Guildford
- Guildford (Session 1) – 26 February (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Guildford (Session 2) – 4 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Elmbridge
- Esher – 3 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Walton – 10 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Mole Valley
- Leatherhead – 4 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Dorking – 11 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Runnymede
- Chertsey – 12 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Egham – 19 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Surrey Heath
- Camberley (Session 1) – 17 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Camberley (Session 2) – 24 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Spelthorne
- Staines – 18 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Ashford – 25 March (Workshops 3 & 4)
Waverley
- Farnham – 26 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Godalming – 2 April (Workshops 3 & 4)
Woking
- Woking (Session 1) – 31 March (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Woking (Session 2) – 7 April (Workshops 3 & 4)
Epsom & Ewell
- Epsom (Session 1) – 1 April (Workshops 1 & 2)
- Epsom (Session 2) – 8 April (Workshops 3 & 4)
Support for High Street businesses
We are a Surrey County Council service offering expert advice to help Surrey businesses thrive.
Our experts are on hand to provide tailored advice to help your business to grow and succeed.
Get in touch with a member of the team via our business support form.
And make sure you always hear about upcoming events by registering for our regular e-newsletter.
