 Portsmouth City Council is encouraging residents to celebrate their local shops and business as part of the national Small Business Saturday on Saturday 4 December with discounted bus travel with First Bus Solent and by promoting offers on Rediscover Portsmouth, a new mobile friendly website.
Now in its ninth year in the UK, Small Business Saturday is grassroots, non-commercial campaign which celebrates small business success and encourages residents to 'shop local' and to support businesses in their communities.
First Bus Solent and Stagecoach are encouraging people to travel by bus to Small Business Saturday with discounted tickets. First Bus Solent are reducing the price of their FirstDay Portsmouth Group ticket (buy onboard, valid for up to five people) to only £5 for the day.
Stagecoach are offering their Portsmouth family DayRider on the day for up to two adults and two children for £4.
The council is developing Rediscover Portsmouth, a new website which has been designed for use on the move, which lists local business and their latest value-added offers to encourage spend locally.
Shoppers are reminded to follow the latest government guidelines around social distancing both when queuing and shopping, and to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport, unless exempt.
 A new ARG Business Resilience Grant has been announced this week to support businesses that have continued to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. This additional grant is to help drive businesses forward, build business resilience, long term recovery and lay the foundations for future growth.
Eligible businesses can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to fund business activities such as costs and expenditure occurred in changing or modifying equipment, the purchase of equipment to diversify, improvements made to shop fronts or market stalls, equipment to aid working from home, professional consultancy support and employee training.
Applications are open to independent businesses in the hospitality, retail, travel, culture and events sectors.
The funding is limited so applications will be administered on a first come first served basis.
Applications must be submitted by 31 January 2022
 The government-mandated Portsmouth clean air zone began on Monday. The zone is part of a major drive to cut down unhealthy emissions and improve the city’s air quality.
"Non-compliant’ vehicles will be issued a daily charge to drive in the zone. For the Portsmouth CAZ ‘non-compliant’ vehicles are buses, coaches, taxi, private hire vehicles and heavy goods vehicles that do not meet euro 6 standards if diesel, or euro 4 standard if petrol. Drivers of private vans, cars and motorcycles will not be charged to drive in Portsmouth.
Everyone can help improve air quality in the city by reducing the number of car journeys they make, choosing to travel more sustainably by walking, cycling, scooting or taking public transport, and switching their engines off when stopped.
 Administered by UK Community Foundations, the new £5 million fund will empower community organisations to work collaboratively with artists and cultural organisations in a way they might not have before, with the best applications expected to be those demonstrating a strong partnership within the creative and cultural sector.
Grants in the range of £750 to £10,000 will be available for creative projects which reflect the interests and ideas of local communities.
The application window is expected to run from January 2022 until 28 February 2022.
 The new Portsmouth Local Transport Plan (LTP4) sets out Portsmouth City Council's priority for sustainable travel such as cycling, walking and public transport, which will help to develop cleaner air and healthier lifestyles for everyone in Portsmouth.
Through this strategy connectivity will be improved, creating a transport network which enables residents, visitors and businesses to access every area of the city on all modes of transport.
The LTP4 will cover the period 2021 - 2038 and is supported by a three year Implementation Plan which will deliver this vision.
 Venture Tower, in Fratton Road, Fratton, has been bought by investment and development firm the Property Experts during an off-market deal.
Built in the 1960s, the eight-storey building already has planning permission. The team from the Property Experts are seeking to ‘explore’ additional possibilities for the site, which includes extending the tower and creating 40 residential units.
There is also the opportunity to demolish the existing block and replace it with ‘a striking 15-storey building’, providing about 100 new-build apartments.
Shaping Portsmouth and its partners are delighted to confirm that the Apprenticeship Bus will once again return to touring the City in 2022. As part of National Apprenticeship Week (7 to 13 February 2022), the bus will visit secondary schools in Portsmouth with current Portsmouth apprentices onboard.
Shaping Portsmouth would like to call on any Portsmouth businesses that have Apprentices to join the programme.
This is a great way for businesses to build positive bonds with local schools, link up with talented students and let them find out about the opportunities that lie ahead.
National Apprenticeship Week aims to highlight the exceptional work being done by employers and apprentices across the country.
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