The new Tavistock Gift Card will be available to pre-order online from tomorrow (Friday) and to buy in person from the end of the month.

It is hoped that the gift card will drive high street regeneration in the South West by encouraging local shopping.

Each gift card is a prepaid Mastercard that can be redeemed with over 50 businesses in the town, keeping money locked into Tavistock.

Tavistock Gift Cards can be purchased online and spent in person or online with retail, leisure, hospitality and services in the town.

It will also be available to buy in person from Lawsons, which is open for essential shopping, from the end of November.

The project is an initiative from Tavistock Business Improvement District (BID) supported by West Devon Borough Council as part of its Town Recovery Fund. Mount Kelly has also supported the programme:

‘Mount Kelly has been involved in discussion with various bodies focusing on developing ways that the town can bounce back from the impact of Covid-19,’ said Guy Ayling, headmaster at Mount Kelly. ‘Tavistock BID’s gift card idea is a plan that drives business directly to the heart of town and as such deserves support. Mount Kelly is supporting this initiative because of the inter-dependence between town and school; we will both emerge stronger for working together, and both benefit when the other thrives.’

Tavistock’s new gift card is part of the Town and City Gift Cards programme from Miconex. Exeter launched a gift card under the scheme in 2018 and thousands has been spent through the programme since then.

BID Manager Janna Sanders said the Tavistock Gift Card will drive the recovery of the town and encourage visitors in a careful, managed way:

‘As a BID, we have wanted to introduce a gift card for nearly two years and have been fortunate in securing the funds necessary to launch the Tavistock Gift Card this year, thanks to West Devon Borough Council and Mount Kelly.

‘Tavistock is a destination town for visitors from Plymouth, South Devon and locally. Our position on the edge of Dartmoor with a high proportion of independent shops makes Tavistock a day out as well as a place to shop.

‘With the introduction of the Tavistock Gift Card, we are bringing the focus back to our town and encouraging visitors and locals alike to look at what we have on offer in Tavistock.

‘We’ve had a very positive response from residents about the introduction of the card and from businesses too. It’s free for businesses to be a part of the scheme. Covid-19 has been hugely challenging for businesses so the launch of the card comes at a really critical moment for our high street.

‘With Christmas around the corner, there is an opportunity for people to buy the Tavistock Gift Card as a present for others. We hope employers will buy the card for their staff as a reward through the UK trivial benefits scheme, and that cards will be given as gifts for teachers, for birthdays and more. It is the card for all events.’

The Town and City Gift Cards programme has been growing throughout the UK and Ireland, driven in part by the shop local movement. In the South, Canterbury, London and the Isle of Wight will launch new Town and City Gift Card programmes in November. Managing director of Miconex Colin Munro said the programmes are instrumental in driving high street regeneration:

‘The first Town and City Gift Card was introduced in Perth in 2018. With Tavistock, we launch our 50th programme. 2020 has made us appreciate our communities, towns and cities all the more. Small local businesses give high streets their heart, their buzz and their atmosphere but without local support, they will close. Amazon is posting record profits but local traders are facing a real fight for survival.

‘From other places, we know that recipients of gift cards spend around 65% more than the value of the card they receive, and they are more experimental. This means more revenue for traders, and new customers too. Every Tavistock Gift Card sold is money locked into the area, protecting jobs and protecting livelihoods.”

The Tavistock Gift Card will be available to pre-order from tomorrow (Friday). The launch will be marked with a competition to win a gift card. For more information: www.visit-tavistock.co.uk/giftcard