Tandridge district moving to Tier 3 (Very High) - Tandridge District Council

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Tandridge district moving to Tier 3 (Very High)
The Tandridge district will move into Tier 3 (Very High) of the government’s three tier system for England
from Saturday 19 December.

Under the Local Covid Alert Level system, Tier 3 is for areas with a very high or very rapidly rising level of
infections, where tighter restrictions are in place to slow the spread of the virus. This aims to reduce
household to household transmission.

Tier 3 restrictions mean:

      Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed except for takeaway, drive-through or delivery.
      Shops can stay open and should continue to follow Covid-secure guidelines.
      You should work from home if you can. If you can’t, try to avoid using public transport or travelling
      during busy periods.
      Gyms, leisure and sports facilities remain open, although group exercise classes (including fitness
      and dance) should not take place.
      Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs, campsites, holiday lets and guest houses must close, with
      some limited exceptions.

Personal care and close contact services like hairdressers and barbers, beauty salons, tattoo
      parlours, nail salons, spas and beauty services, saunas, steam rooms, massage parlours and
      tanning salons can remain open.
      Indoor entertainment venues like soft play, bowling alleys, indoor skating rinks, cinemas and theatres
      must close.
      You can’t socialise with people you don’t live with, or who aren’t in your support bubble, in any indoor
      setting.
      You must not socialise with people you don’t live with, or who aren’t in your support bubble, in private
      gardens or most outdoor public venues.
      You can meet in a group of no more than six people outside (rule of six) in some outdoor public
      spaces, including parks, beaches and countryside accessible by the public.

Find out more about the measures that apply in very high alert level areas to help reduce the spread of
Covid-19.

We’ve published answers to some frequently asked questions on our website.

Support your local shops and businesses
With just over a week to go until Christmas, we are encouraging businesses and residents, through our
festive Backing Business campaign, to shop locally and safely this Christmas. If you’ve not already done
your Christmas shopping or you still have some last minute items to tick off your list, including your festive
food shop, please consider helping out our local businesses by shopping locally.

Thank you to our businesses which have sent us pictures of their festive displays, we’ve enjoyed sharing
them across social media as part of our campaign.

Financial help for businesses
affected by Covid-19
restrictions

A new grant funding scheme, the Christmas
Support Payment, is available to help pubs
affected by the Covid-19 pandemic between 2
December and 29 December. To qualify for the
grant, pubs must generate less than 50% of their
income from food sales.

Eligible businesses established after 11 March
and before 1 December 2020 can apply.
Applicants may be asked to provide accounting
evidence to show they generate less than 50% of
their income from food sales.

Businesses in receipt of other Local Restriction Support Grants are also eligible for this grant.

Restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music
venues, theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas and concert halls are not eligible for this grant.

Eligible businesses have until 29 December 2020 to apply for the grant.

Local Restriction Support Grant
Businesses required to close from 5 November 2020 to 2 December 2020 because of the recent national
restrictions, or those required to close from 2 December 2020 because of the local Tier restrictions, may be

eligible for the following Local Restriction Support Grant:

      Eligible businesses appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of £15,000 or under when
      local restrictions started will receive £1,334 if they were forced to close between 5 November and 2
      December 2020 or £667 every 14 days if they are forced to closed from 2 December 2020.
      Eligible businesses appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value over £15,000 and less
      than £51,000 when local restrictions started will receive £2,000 if they were forced to close between
      5 November and 2 December 2020 or £1,000 every 14 days if they are forced to close from 2
      December 2020.
      Eligible businesses appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of £51,000 or over when
      local restrictions started will receive £3,000 if they were forced to close between 5 November and 2
      December 2020 or £1,500 every 14 days if they are forced to close from 2 December 2020.

To apply for the grant, please complete an application form.

Additional Restrictions Grant
A discretionary one-off payment through the Additional Restrictions Grant is also available to some
businesses severely impacted, but not forced to close, by Covid-19.

To check whether you are eligible, please refer to our scheme before completing an application form.
Applications will be reviewed by an awards panel each Monday. If your application is successful, we will e-
mail to confirm the amount of grant funding you will receive. This will be paid by BACS transfer to your
bank account.

Due to the Christmas period, the final grant payments of the year are being made this week and the
first grants payments of 2021 will be paid during the week of 4 January 2021.

Updated advice on keeping your workplace COVID-secure
For businesses and workplaces able to remain open, government guidance on working safely during
coronavirus, to protect staff and customers, has been updated to reflect the latest restrictions.

Safe, affordable work space and digital hub for local businesses
Local businesses can enjoy the use of new work space, community and networking opportunities, with the
opening of TheWorkary, based in Quadrant House, Croydon Road, Caterham.

A work space ideal for start-ups, entrepreneurs, small businesses and remote workers, TheWorkary offers
a safe, local, affordable alternative to working at home or commuting, with all the benefits of being part of a
local community of like minded teams and individuals.

Memberships start from as little as £3 per day and the space is open, with measures in place to make it as
safe as possible. More information, including how to book a tour, is available on TheWorkary, Caterham
website. You can also get a free day pass to use the space any Tuesday until the end of January.

The Tandridge District Digital Hub
If you don’t need a physical space, TheWorkary, Caterham is also offering local startups, freelancers and
businesses the opportunity to join a network of over 500 members through its Digital Hub. This new
platform gives members the opportunity to:

      Make connections and create networks with businesses.
      Seek advice and support during this challenging time, by collaborating with others.
      Share best practice, knowledge and skills through events and digital meetups.
      Enjoy a range of wider national and local discounts and benefits.

Membership of the Digital Hub costs £15 a month and all startups, entrepreneurs, freelancers, retailers and
small and large businesses are welcome to join. Members joining before the end of 2020 can also enjoy:

      A free first month membership, using the code: FIRSTTIMEFLYER.
      Half price annual subscriptions, using the code: EARLYBIRDBETA.

Free Covid-19 testing available in Oxted
Residents with Covid-19 symptoms will be able to get tested for free, when the Covid-19 mobile testing unit
comes to Oxted from 19 to 23 December.

The testing unit will be in the car park behind the Oxted Health Centre and Oxted Library. Anyone not
familiar with the area can find it by searching for the postcode RH8 0BQ.

To get a free test, you must have one of the following symptoms:

      A high temperature.

A new, continuous cough.
      A loss or change in your sense of smell or taste.

Anyone who has been asked to get tested by a local council or is taking part in a government pilot project
is also eligible to get a free test and you can also get a test for someone you live with if they have
symptoms.

Tests can be booked at www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test. Please don’t visit the testing unit unless
you have booked an appointment.

EU Exit
While 2020 has been dominated by the pandemic, the end of the year also signals the UK exit from the
European Union and we have been preparing to minimise the impact.

One of the most likely, short term impacts is the potential of increased, slower HGV traffic as a result of the
rule changes at the border. The Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum (SLRF) is co-ordinating planning across
the south, in conjunction with neighbouring counties and central government, to help keep our road
network moving.

Other preparations have included securing our supply chains for food, fuel and medical supplies, especially
for our social care providers to protect our most vulnerable residents.

The Surrey Local Resilience Forum (SLRF), is a multi-agency partnership made up of representatives from
local public services, including the Emergency Services, Local Authorities, NHS England and the
Environment Agency.

End of the transition – 15 days to go

With just 15 days to go until the end of the UK’s Brexit transition period, support and advice is available to
help businesses plan for 1 January 2021.

      Sector specific webinars are available to help businesses prepare for the new rules at the end of the
      transition period.
      The government’s transition guidance and the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Brexit Hub
      are available to provide help and guidance.
      Coast to Capital’s Growth Hub is offering support for businesses preparing for EU transition. Follow
      Coast to Capital on Twitter for more details of the supoprt it will be offering businesses over the
      festive break.

Free business advice and events
A number of other free videos and webinars are available to help support businesses through the current
pandemic:

      WSX Enterprise is running a number of online webinars and seminars over the coming months,
      covering topics including how to raise finance within your business, submitting a compelling grant
      funding bid and tips on business planning and financial management.
      A free online digital marketing workshop, delivered by General Assembly, is taking place on 20
      December. The session will focus on brand building and looking at case studies of how successful
      campaigns have been run using channels including email, social media and paid advertising
      channels. Registration information is available on General Assembly’s website.
      Coast to Capital’s Growth Hub is ready to support businesses facing challenges as a result of the
      Covid-19 pandemic.
      The Federation of Small Businesses is offering free webinars, giving advice to businesses, including
      a number of virtual networking opportunities and advice on EU exit transition.
      HMRC is still running its webinars to help employers, their staff and the self-employed during
      the Covid-19 pandemic, providing an overview of the support available. You can watch previously
      recorded webinars and register for future webinars, with webinars on topics including the
      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support and the Coronavirus
      Statutory Sick Pay Rebate schemes.
      Thousands of expert professional and business services advisers have signed up to offer free online
      advice to help small businesses bounce back from COVID-19, giving advice on areas like
      accounting, recruitment, digital, marketing and advertising.

Business advice from Money Saving Expert
Money Saving Expert regularly updates its range of guidance and advice to help businesses during the
current pandemic, including:

Coronavirus help for employees, which includes information on how the furloughing scheme works
      and who’s eligible.
      Coronavirus self-employed and small limited company help, which includes your rights if you’re self-
      employed or the director of a limited company.
      A redundancy help guide, with tips on how to prepare financially, plus details of your legal rights.

Thank you for subscribing
Thank you for subscribing to receive this e-newsletter. We hope you find it useful in giving you the updates
and advice you need, particularly during the pandemic. Due to the Christmas break, we won’t be issuing an
e-newsletter next week.

We hope you have a good festive break and a happy and healthy 2021.

Please share this information
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Have your say
What would you like to see in future newsletters? What training opportunities and events would you like to
see in the district? Do you have any thoughts about how you would like the Council to support local
businesses?

We would really welcome your thoughts. Have your say by contacting our Economic Development Team on
01883 722000 or customerservices@tandridge.gov.uk.

About this newsletter
While every care has been taken to check the information given, Tandridge District Council does not
guarantee the accuracy or content of any externally provided information, nor does it endorse any
businesses, services or products mentioned.

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