UPDATE AS AT 20 April

The Government’s portal for employers who need to claim back wages of furloughed employees has opened today.

Guidance and the portal can be found by pressing the button below.

Please be aware that payments will take 6 working days and will be made by BACS.

In order to receive the money before the end of the month you will need to submit your application before 22 April.

Take me to the portal

Coronavirus business interruption grant update

Are you one of the approximately 1200 businesses in our area that have not yet applied for the grant that you are entitled to under the scheme?

We have spoken to BCP Council who confirm that they have received around 2200 applications from businesses so far, and around 80-90% have been processed & paid. Those that have not yet been paid were received over the last weekend, or have queries that need to be dealt with.

There are approximately 1200 businesses that might be eligible and haven’t applied.

The Council are extracting data on Friday and will be writing to those businesses on Monday, but they can apply online by filling out the simple application form that can be found here.

Take me to the grant application form

What can we do to help you?

A note from Fiona

I know that everyone is struggling out there, and since the lockdown we have been trying to provide as much support as possible, by sharing links and resources on our website, our Facebook page and on Twitter. We have also been lobbying our MP’s and Central Government through British BIDS and the ATCM, making sure that the welfare of businesses in our areas remain at the forefront of decision makers minds. As we are all social distancing we have had to cancel our plans for Easter and VE Day so we have had to change our plans for the Villages in the coming months.

I know that there must be more that we can do to help you through this period. For example, I have been looking at online shopping apps, but there does not seem to be much appetite for this, as most of you are already taking orders and doing deliveries yourselves.

You will also notice that the Town Centre BID has launched a series of adverts with the Echo keeping people updated as to what businesses are doing, and which are still open. There is a cost attached to this (£3,500 plus VAT) and it is something that we could consider- but I wanted to ask you whether this will be useful- would you prefer that we provided support elsewhere?

There is also a possibility that we could provide vinyl floor graphics for social distancing purposes- would this be useful?

I am also looking at the possibility of a webinar for our levy payers, hosted by solicitors and accountants providing advice to our businesses at this time. Once the logistics of this are established I will contact you with details of how to join and any how to send me questions you would like the experts to answer.

As a business that benefits from small business rates relief we have been able to apply for the £10,000 grant and we will use this to provide you with added support so your opinions will really make a difference as to what we do. I need to know what form of support would be of the most practical benefit to you right now, or if you would prefer this to be spent in encouraging people to your businesses when they are able to go out and about once again, and how you feel we can best do that.

Can I ask you to email me any ideas that would really help your business, or comments relating to the above- we want to support you as much as we can by providing resources that are really useful and the best way to do this is to ask for your views.

Also, if you can think of anything that will help you hit the ground running once this difficult time is over please let me know and I will investigate whether this will be possible.

Thank you
Fiona
Your Interim BID Manager
[email protected]