|
Welcome to the May edition of Test Valley Business Matters.
This month, we are delighted to announce an extension to the Andover Town Centre frontage grants. Test Valley Borough Council will be funding this scheme during 2026/27.
We know that may businesses are struggling with visibility in AI searches and so we are including a list of steps you can take to check your website is set up appropriately and to try and improve your prospects. We are also highlighting events from the Government's new Business Academy including a webinar on AI search.
Turning to employment and skills, the Government has announced incentives to encourage SMEs to take on apprenticeships, and Hampshire County Council has a new programme of Skills Bootcamps which provide opportunities for employers to upskill existing employees for a small contribution to training costs, or recruit job seekers that have been through the programmes. We've included details about these.
Have a good month!
 Andover town centre frontage grants
The demand for Andover town centre frontage grants has been fantastic, and so TVBC is extending the grant scheme in 2026-27. The scheme was developed in partnership with Andover BID and the Andover Town Council and provides support for businesses who are improving their frontage, for example through repairing, repainting or installing shop fronts, fascias, signage and windows. The latest project to be completed is the children's hairdresser J4K in the Upper High St.
New funding of up to £75k is available for grants for 2026-27. Please contact us at pfunds@testvalley.gov.uk to discuss your ideas. Full details of the scheme are available at Andover Town Centre Frontage Grant | Test Valley Borough Council.
The Riverside park
Ecological improvement works are continuing to take place along the River Anton as part of Southern Water’s Chalk Stream Resilience Fund work. The river improvements consist of new areas of planting, banks, and features to support biodiversity that will be visible from the new river viewing platforms as part of the Riverside Park. The Council is progressing with the procurement of a main contractor from Hampshire County Council’s Gen-5 Framework to deliver the scheme with appointment expected later this year in Autumn.
An event will be held on 23 May in the former O2 Unit in the Chantry Centre to seek the public’s views on art creation within the new park.
Andover BID
The Andover BID has appointed a new BID manager - Bill Hawkins. He and the social media and events coordinator, Jess, will be available to meet town centre businesses at morning and evening session on Wednesday 13 May. Times and venues can be found on the registration form.
 Website traffic and AI search
We know that many businesses have seen a reduction in traffic to their webpages as more customers use AI searches to research businesses and products. Luke Williams from The Intergage Group who has run our TVBC AI workshops has recommended the following steps. Some are technical: speak to your web designer or web support service if you have one. If necessary, you can ask an AI model to give you step-by-step instructions of how to check things.
-
Check website accessibility settings for AI tools. Your website will have a robots.txt file which controls access to your website. You need to confirm that this file allows major search engines and AI crawlers to access your company’s public pages. Check that the major search bots (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, bingbot, Googlebot, Google-Extended, ClaudeBot, Claude-User, PerplexityBot, Applebot) all have access to your public pages.
-
Enter metadata, and create an LLMS.txt file if you can. Metadata should be entered for your home page, and key pages such as product pages, FAQs and any ‘How to’ pages, to guide search engines as to what you do. Check whether you can set up an LLMS.txt file which allows you to describe your company to specifically guide large language AI models. (You can see examples of LLMS.txt files here: LLMS.txt file information)
-
Ensure that your key webpages include structured data (schema) which explain the meaning of the content on each page.
- Make sure your website and any platform on which you have a presence has clear prominent statements stating who your company is, what it does, and what it delivers or solves.
- Ensure that any content that you want search engines and AI search to ‘see’ is on the webpages themselves and not hidden in downloadable pdf files.
- Encourage customer reviews on a range of different review sites; get yourself listed on local directories; and try to get press coverage or mentions on partner, customer and supplier sites. The broader your presence, the better.
You can get some insight into how three AI search engines ‘see’ your company through a free Hubspot AEO Grader report. You do need to provide an email address and phone number to access the full report.
The business academy has an upcoming webinar on AI search (see below).
Support from the Business Academy
The Government has launched a Business Academy which gives free access to webinar recordings and live events. You need to register with them at Business Academy in order to access their resources and events. On-demand videos are available on a whole variety of topics (typically 30-45 minutes each). Upcoming live events include the following:
Entrepreneurs courses
The University of Southampton Science Park, in collaboration with the SETsquared Partnership, is holding two fully-funded training and networking events for science, tech and digital entrepreneurs and founders:
- 17-18 June: Women's only programme
- 8-9 July: Open cohort.
For more information and to apply, see Entrepreneurs Workout.
 Green business grants
The FSB has produced a short guide to green business grants. It can be accessed here: FSB | The small business guide to green business grants.
 Beautiful South Tourism Awards
The Beautiful South Tourism Awards are open to all tourism and hospitality businesses located in South East England, including Test Valley. Each entry costs £75 plus VAT but paid-up members of Tourism South East (as at the date of Awards entry submission) can enter three categories for free. The website provides some hints and tips for entrants.
 Apprenticeships
The Government is launching new incentives to help SMEs to take on 16-24 year old apprentices. An incentive of £2000 will apply for those starting apprenticeships from 1 October, providing they have joined their employer within the last three months. If the apprentice is 18-24 and has been on universal credit for at least 6 months, the incentive rises to £3000. More information can be found here: Non-levy incentive for hiring a young apprentice – Apprenticeship Service Support.
Current government guidance on employing an apprentice can be accessed here: Employing an apprentice GOV.UK. Amazing Apprenticeships produce a guide for employers thinking about employing an apprentice: Getting Started - Amazing Apprenticeships. Note the current guidance does not include the new incentives since they are not live yet. Amazing Apprenticeships are also running 'Getting Started with Apprenticeships' webinars on 10 June at 10am and 1 July at 10am.
Finally, Hampshire County Council can offer advice on setting up apprenticeships and apprenticeship funding. Please contact them at: apprenticeships@hants.gov.uk .
Skills Bootcamps
Hampshire County Council has secured funding to run a range of Skills Bootcamps this year. Many are starting around now. Employers can send employees on them - SMEs pay a contribution of 10%; large employers pay 30%. The courses cater for a number of sectors:
-
Digital, with courses in coding (web development), data analytics, digital marketing and AI
-
Hospitality and Catering, with courses in butchery, customer service and leadership skills
-
Construction, with courses in construction plant, trades (bricklaying, carpentry/joinery, plastering), utilities, and urban greening/biodiversity
-
Education, with courses for early years, and teaching assistants
-
Health & Social Care, with a course for care staff
-
Land, with courses in horticulture, tree surgery, and lawn management/greenkeeping
-
Management, with courses in project management and business development.
Please email skills.bootcamps@hants.gov.uk for more details about the courses and start dates. They can also provide flyers.
If you are interested in recruitment and would like to speak to the team about interviewing people that have attended the bootcamps, please contact skills.bootcamps@hants.gov.uk.
Employment Rights Act
Many changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act are now in effect. This is a reminder that Government guidance for employers is available at: Employers: Prepare for workplace changes
 P11D and P11D(b) deadlines
The deadline for reporting P11D(b) Class 1A National Insurance contributions, P11D expenses, and benefits in kind provided in the 2025 to 2026 tax year is 6 July 2026. Guidance on the requirements can be found at How to complete P11D and P11D(b) - GOV.UK. Class 1A NI payments are due no later than 22 July if paying HMRC electronically.
Note that from April 2027, most employers will need to report benefits in kind and taxable expenses via payroll using real time information rather than by issuing P11Ds after the end of the tax year. Further guidance can be found at: Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind and expenses – interim guidance and legislation - Guidance - GOV.UK
Making Tax Digital
HMRC are running a number of seminars in May to explain the requirements of Making Tax Digital. Use these links to see the available dates and register:
|
