New business support grant scheme
The government will provide funding to local authorities in England so that grants worth up to £3,000 per month can be distributed to business premises forced to close. This funding will be provided to each local authority. Businesses required to close in England due to restrictions will be eligible for the following:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per four weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per four weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per four weeks.
We are currently reviewing the latest guidance from the government and will post more information on these grants and the Additional Restriction Grant as soon as possible.
The government have also produced a handy fact sheet of all the up to date financial help available. Click here to read it.
Changes to our services
There are some changes to the services we provide due to the introduction of new national restrictions, which began on Thursday and run until 2 December. The government's website has more details about the new national restrictions.
LEP’s business support programmes
The Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and their advisory bodies have announced two new fully- funded support programmes for small and medium sized businesses who want to grow and develop.
The programmes are funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and therefore businesses will be able to benefit from the programmes at no cost.
Cyber crime and fraud prevention
Now, more than ever, we are relying on all things digital but sadly cyber criminals are also using this opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The government have put together a toolkit on how to protect yourself from cyber crime and fraud, and the questions you need to ask yourself before you let your guard down.
Tourism breakfast briefing
We will be hosting one of our regular Tourism Breakfast Briefings on Friday 20th November.
The agenda includes a welcome from the Executive member for leisure and tourism Cllr John Cook; Covid-19 support for tourism and hospitality businesses by Graham Lamont, Lamont Pridmore and Janet Addison from Digital Tech Cumbria will outline the importance of ‘digital’ for tourism businesses. If you would like to attend, please register using the link below.
Procurement opportunity
We have published a new opportunity on our procurement portal – The Chest for: Maryport Regeneration - High Street Historic Action Zone Shop Front Grant Scheme.
The expression of interest is aimed at architects with conservation accreditation (AABC or who can demonstrate equivalent experience), to provide a fixed price package ‘design and project management service’ to property owners wishing to take advantage of the scheme, as part of a panel of up to three approved suppliers that will be offered to all applicants.
We are particularly keen to involve our local companies and if you are interested and fit the appropriate requirements, you can find a direct link below, this will take you directly to the opportunity and once you have registered your interest, will be able to view our documents outlining further information about our project – if you are not already registered on The Chest, you can do that from the link too.
Success for our Maryport scheme
Amongst all the worrying news surrounding Covid-19, you may have missed the announcement that we were successful in our Maryport Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) bid to Historic England. The scheme will see an investment of £1.2 million into the town centre.
We have now put together a summary of the current plans and how you may want to get involved.
Every Mind Matters
The NHS has collated some very important tips and practical advice on maintaining good mental health throughout this national lockdown period and beyond. There are links to urgent support helplines, advice for children and young people and information on the Better Health app that will provide a free plan for those feeling stressed and anxious during these difficult times.
Upcoming events
Our friends at the Family Business Network have organised a 24-hour, online global learning symposium event for family businesses to engage in peer to peer learning and knowledge transfer.
Go and check out the speaker line up and buy a ticket now! And don’t worry you don’t have to stay up for 24 hours, you can dip in and out whenever you like on Thursday 19th November 2020. Link is https://fambiznet.co.uk/globallearningsymposium/
In addition to the new support programmes (above) the Cumbria LEP is offering a free online summit in which they outline how they can help businesses remain resilient and survive during this lockdown (Wednesday 18th November 2020). Link is https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcucOCvqTIoG9KN8oP-o60qx69_0IXO-XIu
Contact us - we're here to help!
For more information on any of the above information or anything else we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. You can contact Ellie Jones, our Business Services Co-ordinator on ellie.jones@allerdale.gov.uk or 01900 516 766.
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