Coronavirus - Business and licensing
Details about changes to licensing and our working practices will now be in the business and licensing section of the website. The best source of information and guidance on Coronavirus is on Gov.uk.
Welcome Back Fund
Over £160,000 has been allocated to the Cotswold District through the Government’s Reopening High Streets Safely Fund, which then became the Welcome Back Fund. The aim of the fund is to help the local economy, particularly town centres, ‘bounce back’ and recover strongly from the pandemic. The fund is part of the European Regional Development Fund.
The Council has used this funding in a number of ways, including:
- Posters and stickers for businesses with important safety messages.
- Webinars for the hospitality sector to help them reopen after lockdown.
- Promotional campaigns to encourage residents to return to town centres and support local businesses.
- Business advisers to offer town centre businesses support to access grants etc.
- A footfall monitoring system for our main town centres.
- A feasibility study into a Business Improvement District for Cirencester town centre.
- Physical improvements to town centres including cycle racks, benches and signs.
As part of the Welcome Back Fund we are offering several free online business courses:
Covid Resilience Course
This online course will help businesses determine which Covid measures they may need to retain or adopt, as well as advice on how to identify the most effective time to implement or reduce certain measures.
The courses take place online, with anyone interested able to register interest for a course, by emailing covid.secure@publicagroup.uk and include business name, address, contact details, preferred date and use the code CDC.
Digital Resilience Webinars
Free online Digital Resilience courses are available ‘on demand’ for local independent business owners.
Access to one-to-one specialist support and a selection of pre-recorded webinars has been made available through a new partnership with Cotswold District Council and The Retail Champion.
Any business owners who are interested in accessing the one-to-one support session should email champion@retailchampion.co.uk to register their interest.
The Digital Resilience webinar series is available ‘on demand’ via Cotswold District Council’s YouTube channel. Please find the link here: https://bit.ly/3BLKSxL
Keep up to date
We will be sending out regular email updates in our business newsletter. Join our mailing list to receive the latest business news and read previous editions.
Sign up to Business MattersWe also encourage businesses across Gloucestershire to sign up for news from the Local Enterprise Partnership:
Financial support schemes
GOV.UK has details on all the financial support schemes available to businesses and how to check if you are eligible.