Everything businesses need to know this week

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A weekly update for businesses - 01/02/2021

ARG grants

Additional Restrictions Grant relaunched

The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme has been relaunched and is designed to help many of those businesses affected by the coronavirus restrictions that are not eligible under the other support packages that are available.

  • If you received a grant under the first round of the ARG scheme in November/December 2020 then we will be contacting you direct to confirm a few details.
  • If you haven't applied for this scheme before, or were unsuccessful in the first round, and think you are eligible for round 2, check the criteria and apply on our website

Our grants page outlines all the grants that have been and are still available for you to apply for. Please read the eligibility and the application forms carefully, we want to make sure you get the money you're entitled to first time round so any evidence that is asked for, you must provide or this will slow down the process. 

Read more

Reminder of all our business support

Over the past four months we have implemented several business support tools for our local business community to use and get involved with. As its January and everything is still a bit of a blur, we wanted to outline again the projects we have undertaken which we hope you will find useful: 

  • Firstly, we hope you are already signed up, but if you've come across this edition from a colleague or on social media links, we encourage all businesses to sign up to this newsletter! It is sent out every Monday and will bring you a wide range of business news from within the council, around the Allerdale area and nationally. So, don't miss out, click here to register
  • Next up, our Allerdale Business Community Facebook page. This closed group is managed by the council but is very much a community resource where members can not only find out the latest information from the council and partners, but also share ideas and ask for help. The group can be found by clicking here.
  • Now to our wonderful grants team for putting together the informative and simplistic charts and tables in order to explain which grant you are eligible for. The team have been working really hard and have already paid out millions of pounds worth of support to our deserving businesses. Click here to read more
  • Our business support team have also been providing assistance to the Licensing, and Food and Occupational Health teams with their efforts to help retail, hospitality and other businesses understand the frequently changing guidance on COVID-19 restrictions and other key information on reopening safely.

    Letters, emails and social media posts outlining new regulations have freed up precious time to allow the teams to liaise and help the businesses they represent. This newsletter is also going to be reporting back on what the teams have done in terms of enforcement throughout the week. 

  • Our brand new business directory is up and running on our Visit Allerdale website. The directory has been designed to showcase the wide ranging businesses we have in Allerdale to residents, tourists and other businesses. If you would like to get involved, click here to submit your business.
  • We have also put together a business-focused survey that has been designed to help us continue our support of the local business community and identify areas in which we can increase and improve upon. The responses we receive will go a huge way to shaping our economic recovery plan which we hope will reflect the needs and hopes of our businesses. Please let us know your thoughts by clicking here.
  • STILL TO COME - we are really excited to announce we will be launching our very own business website in the coming months! The website will be a one-stop-shop for all your business needs including information on regulatory services, jobs, available properties, business support and events and training. Whether you are thinking about starting your own business, a recent start up or already established, this website will have all the information you need. Laid out in a simplistic way which is easy to read and navigate so you can spend your precious time focusing on the things that matter

Phew! That was a whistle stop tour of all the support tools we have been working on for you and your business. But we wont stop there, with the help of our business survey results and our hard-working economic growth team, we will be coming up with new and improved ways to help our local businesses survive, thrive and prosper.    


Update from our Environmental Health team

As promised, we wanted to share what our Licensing, and Food and Occupational Health teams have been up to in the last seven days to help protect our local residents and businesses and the county as a whole. 

Last week the team worked their way through Allerdale's supermarkets and bigger stores to ensure they were following the correct COVID-19 response procedures. It has been widely reported that rates of transmissions were higher in supermarkets due to close proximity to one another and the amount of people who visit them on a daily basis. With this in mind, our officers made sure all the appropriate measures were in place to keep everyone safe. 

No major issues noticed on their visits, which means all our hard working supermarket and larger store workers are doing absolutely the right thing. We would like to thank all the staff, and customers, who were doing what they can to ensure everyone stays safe.

Our officers have and will be out and about as much as possible to ensure all sectors of the business community are following all guidance measures. Please do get in contact with our Environmental Health team if you have any further questions environmental.health@allerdale.gov.uk .

If you have any issues to report in relation to COVID 19 regulations not being carried out, please call the police on 101 or email 101emails@cumbria.police.uk


Wet-led pub grants deadline extended

There is £1000 available for all wet-led pubs under the government's Christmas Support Payment scheme. If you haven't already applied, do so online today.

The deadline for applications is has been extended by the government. You now have until 28 February 2021 to apply. But the quicker you apply, the quicker we can get the money to you.

Applications should be made via the grants page on our website. Click here to apply. 


Procurement opportunity

We are looking at requirements for a kennelling service and seeking the ideas and feedback from suppliers. This is a pre-tender exercise and is to test and analyse what the market could offer and what capacity and interest there is in providing this service.

For further details, to register your interest and to return your response, please log into The Chest – you can register for free from this link.

Further details are available upon registration of your interest to this invitation. All further correspondence about this project must be directed through the notification link on The Chest.

*Please note that this is not a contract opportunity at this stage*


Tourism Breakfast Briefing

We've teamed up with Copeland Borough Council to host a special breakfast briefing event for tourism business across west Cumbria. It'll be hosted virtually on February 12 and any business involved in the industry is welcome to join in.

The briefing will be an opportunity to hear from key speakers, including Cumbria Tourism's Chief Executive Gill Haigh, and learn more about the various Covid-19 grants on offer to support businesses.

Attendees will also learn more about the planning considerations for motorhome and campervan sites, receive updates on the latest tourism initiatives in both Copeland and Allerdale, and have the chance to take part in a question-and-answer session.

We already over 80 businesses signed up! To register, please click here. 


Support for all

We are joining a campaign to draw attention to the support available for people who are being affected by COVID-19 - whether that's about money and food, mental health, employment or housing. 

We know that many people have found themselves needing help for the first time in their lives and we want people to know help is available. 

More information is available at the Cumbria County Council website (link below) or by calling the county council's Support Helpline on 0800 783 1966 (Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 4.30pm). 

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Market trader gives back to the NHS

One of our lovely and loyal market traders, Bron's Bombtastic, has been using her time away from the markets to give back to the wonderful NHS staff who cared for her when she needed it most. 

Bron Stringer sells her homemade bath bombs on markets in Workington, Cockermouth and Silloth under normal circumstances but was recently admitted to West Cumberland Hospital with a heart problem caused by her medication and the care she received motivated her to make NHS themed bath bombs for NHS heroes.

Bron and her daughter Amy made the rounds delivering the bath bombs to all the front line workers in the area where she recieved lots of compliments and thanks.

Big thank you to Bron and we cant wait to welcome her and her fellow traders back to our local markets soon!

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Upcoming events & signposting

Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is here to help you navigate these challenging times and think about the issues and opportunities, partnering with Michael Bauer of Cumbria Employment Solicitors to bring you a 30-minute webinar followed by an hour long Q&A session focusing on ‘Emerging from Lockdown/Furlough – Key Employment Law Issues to Consider’ on Wednesday 3rd February, 10-11.30. This event is free to Cumbria Chamber of Commerce members, and £10+VAT for non-members. To find out more, please click here. Or to book your place click here.

We are urging any business who is being affected by leaving the EU to keep the Brexit toolkit produced by the Government close by. Keep your business moving Brexit toolkit signposts readers to the latest government guidance on how to keep your business moving. While the new agreement with the EU provides a lot of
opportunity, new rules are here and businesses must act now to implement necessary changes. Click here to read. 

FSB are hosting a seminar on how it’s more important than ever to protect your business, have a process to make sure you get paid and look after your own wellbeing so that your business is here for the long term. You can register for Building for success - 3 essential ways to protect your business, get paid on time and keep your sanity now and in the future here.