Leading the BID industry
Leading the BID industry
All the latest information your BID and businesses needs to know regarding Covid-19.
This evening we will hear from the Prime Minister about whether Covid lockdown restrictions can be fully lifted on 21st June – although a 4-week delay is already being widely reported.
BIDs represent thousands of hospitality, leisure and retail businesses across the UK - and together we have a real opportunity this summer to help revive our high streets. If we are to succeed, we need people to be able to visit, shop, do day trips and staycation freely in our towns and cities safely and securely as the current restrictions are eased. BIDs have spent the last few months working with their communities to make them as safe as possible.
We’ve been focusing on getting the basics right from installing outdoor sanitisers, implementing one-way systems, organising deep street cleans, to setting up hygiene training for businesses.
We continue to work hard to keep these basics right and keep people safe - now we need the government to follow the data, lift the restrictions as soon as possible, and help us make the most of the staycation trade.
Bill Grimsey is turning his attention to independent businesses and embarking on new research to find out how they survived the pandemic and what more can be done to support them.
He is interested in hearing about the experiences of getting goods and services to customers, marketing activities, collaboration and whether independent businesses received sufficient support.
This is a chance for businesses to have their say! So, if you would like to help, please send this document out to your independent businesses, for them to send any comments back to Bill on highstreetreview@gmail.com.
We welcome the new Business Rates relief fund of £1.5 billion for businesses affected by COVID-19 outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors. The Ministry say that this will go as targeted support, and is because any appeals against rates bills on the basis of material changes of circumstance due to the pandemic have been ruled out. We hope that the this relief fund will get cash to affected businesses in the most proportionate and equitable way.
Very disappointing, with no specific outcomes at all. But today’s interim report recognises the need to reduce business rates complexity particularly in the reliefs system. It is also considering whether rates should be based on ability to pay, turnover or profits rather than size of property, bringing the duty in line with corporation tax. But there is little or no support for making property owners pay the duty through a ‘capital values tax, and an online sales tax is unlikely to replace Business rates, given the large amount of revenue that is generated from Business Rates.
Read the full report here https://assets.publishing.serv...
The Coronavirus Act 2020 was designed to protect public health and ensure sufficient preparation for a worst-case scenario. The Act ensures that:
These powers are temporary and designed to be switched on when necessary, and off when no longer needed.
The Act requires ministers to publish a 2-month and one-year report on the status of the non-devolved provisions.
The aim of this short inquiry is to examine the Government’s recent and proposed changes to permitted development rights in respect of large-scale development, commercial-to-residential conversions and changes of use between different types of commercial and retail premises. In particular, the inquiry will explore their role in supporting economic growth and their impact on local authorities, including their ability to plan development holistically, developer contributions, the provision of services and social housing and the supply and quality of new homes.
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1131/permitted-development-rights/
So the Chancellor this week delivered what was the most trailed Budget in memory, and it was a very mixed response to what has been the crisis of our time. The Chancellor said that he is providing businesses with £100 billion of support to get through the pandemic, and there was lots to help levy payers of all shapes and sizes who need some stability first and foremost as they begin to come out of lockdown.
Here is a roundup of what was announced by the Chancellor https://www.gov.uk/government/... and here you can see the grants currently available for businesses https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support.
Here you can find a letter from Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick to local authorities on government measures to support hospitality businesses to reopen safely, including the intention to extend pavement licences for a further 12 months, making it easier and cheaper for pubs, restaurants and cafes to continue to make al fresco dining a reality with outside seating, tables and street stalls to serve food and drinks.
The pace of the Covid vaccine roll out and the falling numbers of hospital admissions and deaths is all very positive news. We’re pleased hear the government’s plan to ease lockdown and reopen our economy over the coming weeks.
Business Improvement Districts, made up of tens of thousands of businesses across the UK, will play a vital role in our recovery. We’re on the ground, we move quickly and without bureaucracy, and we are well placed to help get businesses up and running and welcome people safely into our towns and cities.
Read the full roadmap here and please get in touch if you have any questions.
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor has announced.
To view Covid cases by your local area, the LGA has a useful tool to allow you to compare your area against all English regions and all English councils. You can find out more about this here:
More areas of England will move into tier 4 on Thursday 31 December.
The full list of local restriction tiers can be found here.
The changes will move an additional 20 million people into Tier 4, meaning a total of 44 million people (78% of England's population) will be in that toughest tier.
Areas that will be covered by the Tier 4 rules from 00.01am on Thursday are:
Source: SkyNews: https://news.sky.com/story/cov...
Please find some useful links to a full range of financial support measures in place by the government.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Financial support for businesses during coronavirus (COVID-19)
The government has named 72 high streets across England that have been selected to receive £831m of investment to help fund their recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and to protect jobs.
Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, said the money would “help our much-loved town centres get through this and prosper into the future”. However, the Labour party said the government had originally promised £1bn when it launched the Future High Streets Fund.
15 places have been selected to receive all the money they asked for
1. Tamworth £21,652,555
2. Sunderland £25,000,000
3. Sutton £11,346,704
4. Bishop Auckland £19,856,853
5. Blyth £11,121,059
6. Kidderminster £20,510,598
7. Old Kent Road, Southwark £9,605,854
8. Swindon £25,000,000
9. Stockport £14,500,000
10. Winsford £9,980,000
11. Sheffield £15,817,001
12. Blackfriars, Worcester £17,939,000
13. Birkenhead £24,581,011
14. Brierley Hill £9,985,689
15. Stretford £17,605,674
A further 57 places will receive provisional funding offers
1. Leamington Spa £10,015,121
2. Nuneaton £13,362,736
3. Wolverhampton £15,760,196
4. Walsall £11,439,967
5. Newcastle-under-Lyme £11,048,260
6. Stafford £14,377,723
7. Tottenham £10,019,648
8. Woolwich £17,150,964
9. Wealdstone– £7,448,583
10. Putney– £1,058,706
11. Elland £6,310,812
12. Northallerton £6,085,013
13. Rotherham £12,660,708
14. Halifax £11,762,823
15. Barnsley £15,624,456
16. Scunthorpe £10,675,323
17. New Ferry, Wirral – £3,213,523
18. Wigan £16,633,691
19. Crewe £14,148,128
20. Rochdale £17,080,458
21. Farnworth, Bolton £13,306,817
22. Oldham £10,750,237
23. Kirkham, Fylde – £6,290,831
24. Maryport, Allerdale – £11,527,839
25. Carlisle £9,129,874
26. Plymouth £12,046,873
27. Barnstable £6,548,876
28. Newton Abbot £9,199,364
29. Paignton £13,363,248
30. Kingswood £12,555,464
31. Salisbury £9,355,731
32. Penzance £10,403, 112
33. Trowbridge £16,347,056
34. Yeovil £9,756,897
35. Taunton £13,962,981
36. Loftus £5,833,628
37. Middlesbrough £14,170,352
38. Stockton £16,543,812
39. South Shields £5,959,187
40. Derby, St Peters Cross £15,034,398
41. Sutton-in-Ashfield £6,279,872
42. Grantham £5,558,818
43. Grimsby £17,280,917
44. Nottingham, West End Point £12,523,981
45. Heanor £8,592,837
46. Northampton £8,442,730
47. Buxton £6,608,223
48. Dover £3,202,226
49. Newhaven £5,004,939
50. Chatham £9,497,720
51. Ramsgate £2,704,213
52. Commercial Road, Portsmouth £3,122,375
53. Fratton, Portsmouth £3,858,489
54. High Wycombe £11,886,876
55. St Neots £3,748,815
56. March, Fenland £6,447,129
57. Great Yarmouth £13,774,430
Full details can be seen here: https://www.theguardian.com/bu...
From 00:01 on Boxing Day, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, those parts in Essex not already in tier four, Waverley in Surrey, and Hampshire - including Portsmouth and Southampton but with the exception of the New Forest - will be escalated to tier four.
Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset (including the North Somerset area), Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and Northamptonshire, as well as Cheshire and Warrington, will be escalated to tier three.
Cornwall and Herefordshire will be escalated to tier two.
Full details can be seen here https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-several-more-areas-in-england-put-into-tier-4-12171224
Tougher restrictions come into force for our businesses ahead of Christmas
Thousands of businesses across England, Scotland and Wales now face tighter restrictions following new Covid rules announced yesterday which sees the introduction of a new tier 4.
The announcement brings further devastation to many BID businesses. Non-essential businesses who are now in tier 4 have been forced to close. A full list of these businesses can be found here, including guidance on click & collect and takeaway services: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ti...
The new tier 4 rules across England affect London, the South East and the East of England, covering:
Exclusions apply to Waverley, Colchester, Uttlesford, and Tendring.
A Wales-wide lockdown has also been brought forward to today. For Scotland, the whole of mainland Scotland will be placed into the Level 4 restrictions from Boxing day – for at least three weeks.
Commenting on the latest guidance, Chief Executive of British BIDs, Chris Turner said: ‘The latest science surrounding the virus paints a very sombre picture. We are utterly devastated for the business community who were desperately relying on increased trade over Christmas to see them through a terrible year. To return to some sense of normality, we must follow the guidance of our tier, protect the vulnerable and in doing so, we will support our key workers and public sector staff who are working flat out to save lives. For BIDs in tier 4 areas, the use of click & collect and takeaway services still applies, so we encourage BIDs to campaign the availability of this over the festive season where possible, and to do as much as they can to connect people to businesses in a Covid-secure way through digital communication.’
East of England
South East
Today (14th December 2020), Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that London, south and west Essex and the south of Hertfordshire (Three Rivers, Watford, Hertsmere and Broxbourne) are going into tier three from 00:01 on Wednesday. The announcement comes with confirmation that a new variant of the virus has been detected.
The parts of Essex are: Basildon, Brentwood, Harlow, Epping Forest, Castle Point, Rochford, Maldon, Braintree, Chelmsford, Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea.
Please ensure all businesses in your BID area are aware of and follow the restrictions that have been put in place.
The key restrictions in Tier 3 are:
More information on other Tiers can be seen here.
Following our previous correspondence on the issue of BID levy payments, some BIDs have received notification of part payment or further requests for levy reductions from a small number of national businesses.
We have produced a sector level communication, co-signed by The BID Foundation, British BIDs and ATCM, that addresses the issue of National levy payers and their levy bills. BIDs are welcome to use/adapt as required.
The letter is available here.
Welsh Government has announced that from 6pm on 4th December:
There are a range of financial support options available for businesses.
Read our latest guidance note on this here.
Extra £40m for pubs in tier two and three areas of England
The government is to provide around £40m of additional support for pubs in tier two and three areas in England.
The money will be distributed via councils to so called "wet pubs" - those that don't serve food and are the most affected by the highest levels of coronavirus restrictions.
In tier two, pubs and bars can only open if they serve substantial meals.
In tier three, all hospitality venues - such as bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants - must stay closed except for delivery and takeaway services.
From Wednesday 2 December, as England returns to a system of tiered restrictions, all non-essential retail across England will be able to reopen, and planning rules limiting opening hours will be eased to allow shops to be open for longer Monday to Saturday.
Full list of local restriction tiers by area from Wednesday 2 December 2020.
The Government has laid out plans for England to enter a three-tier system of Covid restrictions once lockdown ends from 00.01 on 2 December. The system will be regularly reviewed and an area’s tier level may change before Christmas. The first review is scheduled for 16 December. Decisions are based on public health recommendations. Here is what the systems mean for businesses.
Tier 1 - Medium alert
Tier 2 - High alert
Tier 3 - Very high alert
Download the Covid-19 Winter Plan here.
Together, Croydon BID, British BIDs, ATCM and The BID Foundation have created ‘Bounce Back Better’ – a manifesto of asks that will help support the retail, hospitality and leisure sector to survive. Our asks are very much in line with partners leading their particular sectors. We hope to provide additional voice and momentum to support businesses so that they in turn can support the economic revival we so desperately need in 2021.
Read the full article and download all of the assets here.
The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support closed businesses that do not directly pay business rates as well as businesses that do not have to close but which are impacted.
Local councils can determine which businesses to target and determine the amount of funding from the ARG.
ARG funding can be allocated to BID bodies to support them with a shortfall in their levy income, provided that the BID body is not the Local Authority, or a company under the control of the Local Authority. Availability of the funding is at the discretion of the Local Authority, who have the freedom to determine the eligibility criteria for these grants.
More details can be seen here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant
The government’s Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be expanded to protect jobs and support businesses required to close their doors as a result of coronavirus restrictions, the Chancellor announced today, 9 October.
See full update here https://britishbids.info/blog/...
