Small Business Grants and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants
ADC are reporting that all grant applications that were made and assessed as eligible have now been processed.
Reminder letters have been sent to all businesses that have been identified as eligible but hadn’t claimed. ADC are reporting that over 300 businesses across the district haven’t applied for grants they’re eligible for – please make sure that isn’t you!!!!
If you applied for a grant but you haven’t heard anything, and you haven’t received any payment, then now is the time to contact ADC Business Rates to follow up: 01903 737752
Appealing Grants Decisions
I haven’t had any specific feedback from ADC about the grant appeals submitted on behalf of some of our businesses, but will let those businesses know if and when I do.
If your application for a grant was rejected, and you’d like to talk it through, please don’t hesitate to call me on 07917 692690 – I’m very happy to help.
Top-up to local business grant funds scheme
A discretionary fund has been set up to accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme. Details of who can apply, and how to apply for this funding will be shared by ADC very soon.
Government announces “Roadmap Task Forces”
The Government has just published a document about the new ministerial-led task forces set up to plan how closed sectors can reopen safely.
If you scroll down to Section 3 of the document, you’ll see the updated guidance on which businesses should be closed, and any exceptions.
Moving towards the next Phase
Phase 1 of the government’s roadmap to recovery began yesterday, with people allowed to exercise more than once per day, some specific sectors encouraged to return to work (in Covid Secure workspaces), and the reopening of garden centres.
Phase 2 includes the reopening of non-essential retail, with a suggested earliest date of 1st June, but only if a number of conditions are met.
The government is currently publishing a mountain of guidance documents for businesses and the agencies involved in public spaces, as well as setting up task forces. There’s a huge amount of information that needs to be read, interpreted specifically for the unique situation in Bognor Regis, and then co-ordinated to make sure that all the pieces fit together so that the town centre can reopen safely.
The BID is actively engaged in this process, working closely with the agencies involved in the town centre, and building an easily accessible toolkit of resources for you to access online.
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to start reading the government guidelines for your sector and planning how you can make your premises and operations “Covid Secure”. We’ll be including this guidance as part of our toolkit, and suggesting the steps you need to take to follow that guidance, but do make sure you read the documents in full in their original form first!
To find the specific guidelines for your business sector, visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Training Opportunities with Town Square Spaces
We’ve been asked to spread the word about the Startup Club training series hosted on Zoom by Town Square Spaces, who will be managing The Track, the new creative and digital hub located in Bognor Regis railway station. Town Square has helped hundreds of startups grow into successful businesses and Startup Club brings all their experience, support and expertise to Bognor Regis.
Starting on Thursday May 21st, the workshops will run for 2 hours every Thursday, starting at 6 pm, and will run over the following 8 weeks with a presentation session on week 9 where attendees pitch their business ideas and plans using the learning they’ve built up on the 8 week course. See below:
May 21st: The business mindset
May 28th: Branding & Marketing
June 4th: Business Model Planning
June 11th: Building A Website
June 18th: Managing The Money
June 25th: Social Media
July 2nd: Presentation Skills
July 9th: Sales Communications – getting people to say Yes
July 16th: Business ideas presentation night
In business no one gets a second chance to launch a business successfully, and how a business starts out in its early weeks and months can make a crucial difference. Startup Club is all about helping people negotiate this challenging period and help set them on a firm business footing.
If you would like to know more about Startup Club and the workshops, please visit: https://startup-club.co.uk/
As always, we’re here to support you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kindest regards, Heather
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