 North Devon Council is urging businesses who have been financially impacted by the national lockdown period (covering November 5 to December 2 inclusive) to apply for one of two types of grant, if they are eligible.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant are for businesses with a rateable value which were forced to close during the national lockdown.
The Additional Restrictions Grants are open to those businesses who were not forced to close, but were impacted due to the lockdown or who were forced to close but are outside of the business rates system. Applications for the ARG grants close on 16 December.
This may include businesses from the following sectors:
- Tourism – accommodation providers and attractions
- Leisure Industry – those who are in the leisure industry and those who provide services to other sectors that have been forced to close or also impacted by the national lockdown
- Personal Care Services – including close contact services – this may be taxi services
- Retail – non-essential food retailers
Please note we will soon be releasing details in the coming weeks of further grants that will be available for businesses who have been affected by the Tier 2 status for North Devon.
Details will be live on our website and social media posts will be put out via our Facebook and Twitter platforms.
 There are different rules on meeting friends and family, depending on when you meet them.
From 2 December to 23 December
You must follow the guidance for the tier 2 meaning:
Meeting indoors
You can only meet socially with friends and family indoors who you either:
Unless a legal exemption applies.
‘Indoors’ means any indoor setting, including:
- private homes
- other indoor venues such as pubs and restaurants
Meeting outdoors
You can see friends and family you do not live with (or do not have a support bubble with) outdoors, in a group of no more than 6. This limit of 6 includes children of any age.
‘Outdoors’ means in a private garden or other outdoor space.
You can continue to meet in a group larger than 6 if you are all from the same household or support bubble or another legal exemption applies.
When meeting friends and family you should also:
- follow guidance on social distancing and letting in fresh air
- limit how many different people you see socially over any period of time.
- meet people outdoors if possible: this is safer because fresh air provides better ventilation
Venues can host multiple groups and should follow COVID-secure guidance, but you must not mix with anyone who is not part of your household or support bubble when you are indoors.
This includes in:
- pubs and restaurants
- leisure and entertainment venues
- personal care/close contact services
- public buildings, such as libraries, community centres and halls
At least one person in your group should give their contact details to the venue, or each individual should check in using the official NHS COVID-19 app so NHS Test and Trace can contact you if needed.
Shoppers in Barnstaple may notice friendly people acting as 'place makers' around the high street, as North Devon's town centres have reopened following the second national lockdown.
The new place maker role has been developed by North Devon Council as an additional safety and support measure in the fight against COVID-19. The place makers' responsibilities are to be a presence in the high street, answer questions and provide a friendly reminder to the public and businesses to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines to help keep everyone safe.
Barnstaple's place makers will be in the town centre until Christmas, during what is typically the busiest time of the year for high streets. We hope this added measure will help with social distancing and provide residents with additional confidence that the district's high streets are safe places to be, encouraging customers back into the town centres to support our local retail and hospitality businesses.
 The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people most at risk from coronavirus.
At this time, the vaccine is being offered in some hospitals to:
- some people aged 80 and over who already have a hospital appointment in the next few weeks
- people who work in care homes
- health care workers at high risk
The vaccine will be offered more widely, and at other locations, as soon as possible.
The order in which people will be offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Read the latest JCVI advice on priority groups for the COVID-19 vaccination on GOV.UK
 If you are shopping online this Christmas, please remember that last year, cyber criminals stole an average of £775 from each online shopping victim.
Don't let that happen to you, visit CyberAware for practical steps to better cyber security:
Avoid misinformation on Coronavirus - only follow advice from official, trusted sources.
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