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Statement from The Leader of the Council, Councillor Mike Steptoe and Managing Director, Shaun Scrutton - June 8 2020
The bulletin for 8th June 2020 from the Leader of Rochford District Council, Cllr Mike Steptoe, and MD Shaun Scrutton is now available. Please note in particular, the following headings relevant to business:
Rochford District Discretionary Business Grants Scheme
The deadline for applications for the Rochford District Discretionary Business Grants Scheme is only 7 days away. So far the council has received just over 90 applications.
The scheme is available for local businesses which were not eligible for either the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund or the Small Business Grant Fund. Businesses receiving support from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme may however be eligible. Companies that are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available for local businesses who are urged to apply before the scheme ends at midnight Sunday 14th June and payments to successful applicants will be made after that date.
Applicants need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs
• Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis
• Small or micro- businesses as defined by the Company Act 2006
• Businesses that were trading on 11 March 2020.
• Businesses which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000.
The following businesses will be prioritised for grants:
• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces (examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment)
• Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment and who are trading in Rochford District on a weekly basis.
• Bed & Breakfast businesses which pay Council Tax instead of business rates
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief
To find out if your business might meet the full eligibility requirements visit: www.rochford.gov.uk/DiscretionaryGrants
Business Grants (Non-Discretionary Scheme)
The council has now paid out over £17.1m to 1,476 businesses in the Rochford district, which is 93% of the £18.4m total originally allocated by Government.
Reviewing a business and creating the future trading plan – Thursday 11th June, 18:00- 19:00
This will help businesses to look closely at the key drivers for their particular business, customer behaviour, visit frequency, average spends and key product lines. The aim is to help the businesses identify and secure improved future
performance, and to help the businesses trade sustainably, e.g. priority core products going forward, key promotional messages, optimum use of selling space, maximizing the effectiveness of windows and maintaining customer contact.
Get your business online ready!
A webinar for anyone looking to get their business visible online. This will introduce various digital marketing channels to help you build an online presence and customer engagement strategies. On Thursday, 11th June 2020, 11:00 – 12:00.
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