Chichester District Council Urges Covid affected businesses to apply for grant funding
Chichester District Council is urging local businesses affected by the recent national coronavirus restrictions to apply for Government grants, which can be applied for through its website.
Three types of grant funding are available, including Local Restriction Grants; Additional Restriction Grants; and the council’s Covid Recovery Grant. Details of all of the grants available can be found at: www.chichester.gov.uk/covidbusinesssupport.
Applications for the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme are now being accepted with grants of up to £3,000 available at www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesnovember2020. These grants are to help the following businesses in the Chichester District:
- businesses who were open and trading the day before national restrictions were imposed but are not entitled to the Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme as they are not responsible for business rates (e.g. non-essential market traders, bed & breakfast, shared workspaces in the non-essential retail and hospitality sectors).
- businesses who, while not legally forced to close are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 (e.g. businesses which supply the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, or businesses in the events sector).
This discretionary funding follows the launch of the Local Restrictions Support Grant, which provides grants for local businesses forced to close during the national coronavirus restrictions period from 5 November to 2 December 2020.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant offers three rates of grant payments, ranging from £1,334 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or lower; £2,000 for businesses with a rateable value over £15,000, but less than £51,000; and £3,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or above. Affected businesses are urged to apply for this at www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesnovember2020
Councillor Peter Wilding, Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Revenues and Benefits at Chichester District Council, says “Applying for these grants is quick and easy, and I would urge all eligible businesses to do so as soon as they can. This will ensure businesses receive the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible.
“Chichester District businesses and organisations can also apply for the council’s Covid Recovery grants. These grants comprise of small grants of up to £1,000 towards the cost incurred of keeping customers and staff safe or larger, match funded grants up to £5,000 towards new projects for recovery from lockdown.
“We have set up a simple process on our website where businesses can check which grants they may be eligible for and apply at www.chichester.gov.uk/covidbusinesssupport.”
Applications for the Additional Restrictions Grant and Local Restrictions Grant are open until 13 December 2020. Businesses can find further information on the support available during the pandemic at www.chichester.gov.uk/covidbusinesssupport.
Businesses can also keep up to date by signing up to the council’s free business email newsletter, Ebiz:www.chichester.gov.uk/ebizsignup and the council’s general email newsletter: www.chichester.gov.uk/newsalerts. Both newsletters offer a great way to receive updates on the latest Government guidance and help during the coronavirus outbreak.
West Sussex will be in Tier 2 from next week
- West Sussex will be in Tier 2 from next week
- Local support for NHS Test & Trace
- Immunisation job opportunities
West Sussex will be in Tier 2 from next week
New local restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus will come into effect next week. The government has announced that from Wednesday (December 2), West Sussex will be in Tier 2. This is for areas with a higher or rapidly rising level of infections, and some additional restrictions will need to be in place.
You can find a full breakdown of the new restrictions here.
National restrictions continue to apply until December 2.
Local support for NHS Test & Trace
A new service has just gone live to support the national NHS Test and Trace system.
Working from West Sussex County Council’s COVID-19 Community Hub, the Local Tracing Partnership will take on responsibility for contacting individuals across East and West Sussex who have received a positive COVID-19 test result, but were unable to be contacted by the national NHS Test and Trace team within 48 hours.
Residents in West Sussex who need to be contacted by the Community Hub, will receive a text, call or email from one of the below:
- Text: COVID TRACE
- Phone: 01243 642153
- Email: West Sussex County Council Local COVID Tracing Partnership
Immunisation job opportunities
The NHS is looking for people who can help deliver the biggest ever immunisation programme that Sussex has ever seen.
They’re looking for trained vaccinators and people who they can safely train to be vaccinators. This includes people who can work as flexibly as possible, including evenings and weekends.
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) also need people who can support the programme, including administrators, front-of-house staff, drivers and operations managers.
If you can help, please look at the job opportunities being advertised on the SCFT website, where you can also apply.
Defibrillator incident
UPDATE 23rd November – after further investigation it’s clear that this was a deliberate act of vandalism and the Police have now been informed. Vandalism in all its forms is unacceptable but to deliberately remove and discard a piece of life saving equipment is beyond disgusting. This act could have resulted and could still result in a person who needs access to this device in order to save their life being unable to use it.
If you have any information about who was responsible for this please contact the Police or the Parish Council. If you live in the vicinity of the phone box and heard anything or have an potential CCTV footage, please also get in touch.
It was reported to us this morning, Saturday 21st November, that the defibrillator housed inside the telephone box near Egmont Road was found on High Path. The jacket that protects it was missing and the pads had been ripped.
It doesn’t appear to have been used but until it can be checked this lifesaving piece of equipment is unfortunately out of action. The necessary authorities are being informed.
If anyone has any information about this incident we’d really appreciate it if this could be shared with the Parish Council by calling or emailing parishclerk@easebourne.org.
Thank you
And our November Community Star is…
Just before Lockdown we presented our next Community Star award to a member of our community who has been going above and beyond, especially in recent months.
Sue Absolom was nominated by Rev Derek Welsman, who shared these comments:
“Sue has been an absolute brick throughout the Covid crisis; she has made masks and given the proceeds to charity, she has also supported many lonely and vulnerable people in the village – all without fuss or bother; I can think of no one better for an award.”
Easebourne Park remains open
Even though we are now in Lockdown again, this time around the Government guidelines allow Parks and playgrounds to remain open.
However, social distancing must be adhered too and you must still follow the rules by not meeting up with any more than 1 person from outside of your household, even outside.
Please continue to take extra care when using the play equipment and wash or antibac hands after touching anything and before touching your face.
Thanks to Emma Chapman for the photo.
New Lockdown rules from 5th November 2020
After the announcement yesterday, Saturday 31st October, here is a link that explains more about what rules will come into force on Thursday 5th November 2020
Meeting with family and friends
You must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household – meaning the people you live with – or support bubble.
A support bubble is where a household with one adult joins with another household. Households in that support bubble can still visit each other, stay overnight, and visit outdoor public places together.
You can exercise or visit outdoor public places with the people you live with, your support bubble, or 1 person from another household.
Outdoor public places include:
- parks, beaches, countryside,
- public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them), allotments
- playgrounds – Easebourne Park will remain open but you must follow the above rules if you are there.
You cannot meet in a private garden.
4. Businesses and venues
To reduce social contact, the Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close. These include:
- all non-essential retail, including, but not limited to clothing and electronics stores, vehicle showrooms, travel agents, betting shops, auction houses, tailors, car washes, tobacco and vape shops.
- indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, leisure centres and gyms, sports facilities including swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, dance studios, stables and riding centres, soft play facilities, climbing walls and climbing centres, archery and shooting ranges, water and theme parks,
- entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, adult gaming centres and arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, concert halls, zoos and other animal attractions, botanical gardens;
- personal care facilities such as hair, beauty and nail salons, tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services, non-medical acupuncture, and tanning salons.
Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services can remain open. Essential retail should follow COVID-secure guidelines to protect customers, visitors and workers.
Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect.
Going to school, college and university
The Government will continue to prioritise the wellbeing and long-term futures of our young people and will not be closing schools, colleges or universities. It remains very important for children and young people to attend, to support their wellbeing and education and help working parents and guardians. Senior clinicians still advise that school is the best place for children to be, and so they should continue to go to school. Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to make them safe.
The Prime Minister and Education Secretary have been clear that exams will go ahead next summer, as they are the fairest and most accurate way to measure a pupil’s attainment. We therefore need to keep schools and colleges open so that children are able to keep progressing towards exams and the next stage of education or employment. Students now have more time to prepare for their exams next year, as most AS, A levels and GCSEs will be held 3 weeks later to help address the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Universities have welcomed students back and we have published guidance advising universities on reopening to ensure they have safety measures in place to minimise the spread of the virus. Universities and adult education settings should consider moving to increased levels of online learning where possible.
Brief
Our aim is to communicate with all residents within Easebourne parish and to be as transparent as possible. Our primary communication method is still our public Parish Council meetings held every other month and our Annual Parish meeting.
Given the significant number of changes taking place within the Parish we rely heavily on this website to assist in providing you with updates from our meetings and projects. News stories and updates will also be shared through our Facebook page. Please do follow us on Facebook and share updates with your friends and family to help keep Easebourne Parish updated.
We will continue to utilise our notice boards around Easebourne and Henley village for significant updates, updates in the United parish magazine, along with door drops when necessary to reach out to everyone in the Parish.
If you would like to ask your Parish Council anything please feel free to attend one of our meetings, or contact the Parish Clerk via email, post or phone. Details can be found on our Contact Us page. Please bear in mind that our Clerk works 13 hours a week and so there maybe a delay in receiving a reply.
Members
Carol Cantlon (Head)
Ian Milne
Mike Noble
David Pack
Kay Graetz (Co-opted)
Emma Chapman