If you’re a local business and you missed out on previous grant schemes then be sure to check the criteria and submit an application before midnight today (14 April) for the Exceptional Circumstance Fund.
Once the application window has ended and all applications have been reviewed, we will then aim to make payments as quickly and efficiently as we can.
At the beginning of April, the government launched the new £5 billion Restart Grants scheme to be administered by local authorities.
Businesses in England in the non-essential retail sector will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000, while businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors, which are reopening later, will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £18,000.
You can find full details https://bit.ly/39RtRW5.
You can check if you are eligible for the grants by clicking here bit.ly/RGrantSW.
BCP Council are aiming to get approximately £23million in Restart Grants out to our businesses shortly after Easter. These funds will support businesses that are predominantly reliant on delivering in-person services for the general public from their business premises and will be paid directly to businesses that have already been awarded a Local Restrictions Support Grant for the period from 16 February to 31 March.
Depending on rateable value, these awards will vary from £2,667 to £6,000 for non-essential retail businesses and from £8,000 to £18,000 for businesses in the hospitality, leisure, accommodation, personal care and gyms and sport sectors where the criteria is met.
Full details of the Restart Grant scheme and eligibility criteria will be available on the Council’s website by 1 April.
An application form for new applicants will also be made available once initial grants have been made.
A comprehensive package of discretionary funding will be used to support local economic recovery and help businesses across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole bounce back from COVID-19. The funding will be split to target various different organisations both for direct grants and for wider business support measures.
£750,000 Exceptional Circumstances Fund will be launching next week. This will target those businesses who have suffered a significant reduction in income but that have not received any grant support so far. Varying levels of grants may be awarded up to £10,000. Further details for this scheme will be released next week and organisations will have to apply to be considered for the grants.
BCP Council’s wider package of support will also allocate budgets to the following:
These schemes are very close to being finalised and details will follow in early April.
BCP Council’s team of Information Officers would like to talk to local business owners and find out how they have responded to the challenges of COVID-19.
Their survey, which will be carried out over the phone, is aiming to discover those areas in most need of support. They are also looking for ideas that might help forge the way forward, such as a show-stopping event that would bring a welcome boost to businesses.
This is your chance to share your experiences and views; potentially making a real difference to the recovery of our high streets.
A message from Dolly Senior, Â KIDSCAPE
The Department of Education has given a grant to BCP Council to run a programme for families in need that will provide school holiday activities and food over the Easter Holidays and we are proud to be chosen as one of a small number of providers on the pilot scheme.
As part of the programme, we will be providing lunches and tea for the children that attend the club to encourage a healthy and balanced diet and also providing a food box to the families at the end of each week to encourage families to cook a healthy meal together.
As the scheme grant is very tight, we have only a small budget to do the catering.
As a small business ourselves, we would like to promote other small businesses and we are hoping that you can work with us on this project by donating food items. To make life easier for you, we will be happy to come and collect these items from you.
We will also put your business cards and information in with the food box and will also include your business into our report for BCP and the DfE.
Please see below the link to the programme that will give you more information:
http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/poole/fis/site.page?id=_0mSS_z9XP0
We sincerely hope that we can work together in this small pilot project and help reduce child hunger.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give.
Yours sincerely,
Dolly Senior
What is being proposed?
BCP Council is consulting on the proposal to consolidate previous Designated Public Place Orders/PSPOs from the preceding authorities, to form one BCP PSPO relating to the consumption of alcohol in public places.
The proposal is not an alcohol ban and it does not make it an offence to drink
alcohol in the area proposed to be covered by the Order. However, it would be an offence to fail to comply with a request from an authorised officer to cease drinking or surrender alcohol in the area covered by the Order, if the individual is or is likely to cause anti-social behaviour. If alcohol is confiscated, it can be disposed of by the person who confiscates it.
A range of information has been collated and analysed, this has identified which areas will be consulted on to be included in the Order.
When is the consultation period?
The consultation will run from 16 March 2021 and close at midnight on 13 April 2021.
What happens next?
Your views are important to us and we want to hear from all those who live, work or visit the BCP area and who could be affected by this proposal. You can complete the survey and find more information: https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/pspo
If you have any questions or require a large print copy of the documents, or in an alternative language, please email asbteam@bcpcouncil.gov.uk giving your name, address and telephone number.
Local cafes, restaurants, bars and many more high street businesses are encouraged to apply for a fast track pavement licence if they want to use the space outside their premises for tables and seating.
We hope that by giving our local businesses the opportunity to use the space outside their premises we can bring about a quicker bounce back for our local economy, as well as boost that desirable cafe culture across our area.
As spring and summer approach, it is important we are fully prepared and ready to both welcome back visitors and keep residents safe when government guidance changes.
A resort management taskforce will make sure Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are fully prepared and ready to both welcome back visitors and keep residents safe when government guidance changes.
With a focus on the town centres, open spaces, seafront and beaches, the summer ready taskforce will put in place and manage:Â
