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Statement from The Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Mrs Cheryl Roe, and Managing Director, Shaun Scrutton - July 2 2020
The bulletin for 3rd July 2020 from the Deputy Leader of Rochford District Council, Cllr Mrs Cheryl Roe, and MD Shaun Scrutton is now available. It includes the following headlines relevant to businesses;
Rochford district prepares to welcome customers back to its pubs and restaurants
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - update
Future Fund
Between 1st and 14th June, the Council ran a Discretionary Grants Scheme, allowing businesses who had not previously been eligible for earlier Government grants schemes to make a claim. This was aimed at businesses which could demonstrate ongoing property costs and a significant loss of income due to COVID-19, with the council prioritising applications from small and micro-businesses in smaller premises, due to their critical importance in Rochford District’s economy.
Following on from a successful first round, in which £640,000 was awarded to 126 local businesses, the Council is opening a second and final round of grant funding, which opens today, Friday 3rd July, and closes at 5pm Friday 10th July, to distribute the limited amount of remaining funding.
Whilst the first round prioritised businesses in smaller premises, the criteria for this round will be broader to align with the general Government criteria. Applicants will need to demonstrate they are small/micro businesses trading in the District, have suffered from a significant loss of income, and have significant ongoing property costs.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available. The Council has decided that, for the purposes of this scheme, it wants to support as many businesses as possible and therefore the majority of grants will be an amount up to £5,000. Please note that businesses who have already received funding in the first round, or through the Small Business Grants or Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Grants schemes, will not be eligible.
For further details, and to make an application, click on the link below.
 #Youtrainyougain is a month-long campaign across South Essex to promote the opportunities available to adults wishing to retrain or upskill, especially relevant to those adults whose livelihood, jobs and employment opportunities have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign also helps dispel the myths around studying as an adult, a new website has been launched with instant information about South Essex providers and information for adults about getting back into education, visit the website at www.youtrainyougain.org.
The campaign is a partnership between Rochford District Council, ACL Essex, Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, Southend Adult Community College, South Essex College and Thurrock Adult Community College and Thurrock Council.
Watch out during the next month for information about opportunities, courses and events connected to the #youtrainyougain campaign or visit the website below.
 On 17 June, Rochford was announced as one of 8 pilot locations across the UK that will be participating in trials to help address challenges of improving cash access and acceptance. This follows the publication last year of the Access to Cash Review, which was launched to highlight how many sectors of the community are still reliant upon cash, and the reduction in its availability and acceptance risks leaving many local residents and businesses behind.
The successful communities will be working with the banking industry to identify sustainable solutions to keep cash viable for individuals and businesses. This will include supporting local businesses to accept and bank cash, ensuring that individuals can access cash, working with local councils to ensure that the right infrastructure is in place, education and support on digital inclusion, and working with new and existing financial services providers to create innovative solutions to meet needs.
To support this work, the Rochford project group wishes to survey local businesses and residents in Rochford District to understand how they use cash, and how improved availability of access to cash can support everyday transactions. As local businesses, your assistance would be appreciated as it will enable the team to formulate a road map to build a picture of community needs.
Please note this is not a Rochford District Council initiative, but one which has been led independently by local councillors.
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