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The Economy Team has recently had a change of face, and we are thrilled to introduce Katharine Makant as our new Economy Manager, replacing Gabrielle Mancini who has moved on to a new role within the Council. We wish Gabrielle every success and we will miss her amazing ability to be everywhere at once!
Katharine’s background is in regeneration, programme management and planning policy, and last year she spent six memorable months managing West Berkshire’s Community Support Hub. She has lived in Newbury for many years, has served as a school governor and enjoys walking and cycling around West Berkshire’s beautiful countryside – preferably with a stop off at one of the district’s many excellent community cafés or breweries.
Katharine says: "This is a really exciting time to be joining the team as we expand in order to deliver the Council’s ambitious Economic Development Strategy. It’s been a difficult time for everybody and I’m looking forward to engaging with you and helping to support those whose jobs and career prospects have been affected by the pandemic, as we recover together."
Watch this space for further news!
 Our new Economy Manager, Katharine Makant.
 We are pleased that certain settings have been permitted to open this week at the start of Step 2 in the Government's Roadmap to Recovery. Non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality, gyms and hairdressers can all reopen with Covid-secure measures in place. We know that local businesses have put in a huge effort to reopen safely.
As you know, unless a specific exemption exists, these venues must only be attended in line with the wider social contact limits at this stage - as a single household or bubble indoors; or in a group of 6 people or 2 households outdoors.
Guidance has been produced by Public Protection Partnership, a shared service from West Berkshire Council and the Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Economy Team at Katharine.Makant@westberks.gov.uk
Meanwhile, we’d like to commend the work of the Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) in putting together an amazing list for residents and visitors cater for all of their Newbury Town Centre pub, café and restaurant needs. This “Re-Visit Newbury” listing explains who is open and when, all in one place.
See the Re-Visit Newbury page
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Our Business Rates team has this week automatically distributed the Restart grants to 807 eligible businesses across West Berkshire, at a total value of more than £6.3 million.
These grants provide the financial boost needed to allow our businesses to start safely welcoming customers again in line with the Government's roadmap.
They are available to rate-paying businesses that have been forced to close and are preparing to reopen, broken into the following strands:
- Strand 1: grants of up to £6,000 for non-essential retail businesses
- Strand 2: grants of up to £18,000 for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses
Read more about Restart grants here
If your business meets the eligibility criteria for the grant but you have not received it, then follow the link above to download an application form.
As reported in our previous business bulletin, we set up a one-off grant scheme called the ARG type F to support certain essential retail businesses that have remained open for customers since 18 December 2020, but have suffered a drop in revenue of 25% or more as a result of the reduced footfall caused by wider restrictions.
Businesses must submit an application form with supporting evidence to demonstrate their eligibility. This is a one-off lump sum payment and all applications must be received by West Berkshire Council by 30 April 2021.
Read the eligibility criteria and download an application form here
The hospitality industry has been hit exceptionally hard by the pandemic, however as businesses prepare to reopen there is room for optimism as many consumer trends have changed for good.
The Institute of Directors is hosting a webinar event to discuss how hospitality professionals can plan an effective recovery, and harness these changes for positive effect.
This free 1.5 hour event will be hosted on 19 April at 4:00pm, with a panel of expert speakers from the hospitality industry.
Book your ticket here
 The South East Cyber Resilience Centre (SECRC), which launched in September 2020, is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to provide businesses of all sizes with access to affordable cyber security services. They join a national network of regional hubs that are supported by the police, local universities and the private sector.
Businesses are able to access a free core membership which provides a range of resources to help strengthen resilience against cyber criminals. We think it may be of interest to local businesses who want to raise their awareness of cyber crime.
Read more about the South East Cyber Resilience Centre here
We hope you enjoyed our Shop Local for Easter campaign that we ran from March in the run up to the Easter weekend to support local retailers throughout our district. Through our social media and community news bulletins, we encouraged residents to Shop Local in West Berkshire to buy their Easter treats and goodies, and asked them to share their suggestions of local shops.
Read the list of recommendations that we published for our readers
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Thanks for reading! The West Berkshire Business Newsletter will be back with regular bulletins.
For more frequent updates from the Economic Development team, follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
 
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