An aerial view of Bournemouth. Picture: BCP Council.
Published: January 25, 2021 | Updated: 21st February 2024
BCP Council issues £19m in grant support on single day to businesses
A £19m package of support was issued to businesses across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in a single day.
Utilising the funding provided by the government to support businesses through the latest period of restrictions, BCP Council made nearly 7,500 transactions on Friday, January 22.
They represented a combination of Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG), top-up January lockdown grants and Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) Stream 1 payments.
The schemes cover businesses that are on the rating list and non-rate payers that have been required to close.
They have also been issued to businesses that have not been required to close but have been severely impacted by the closure of other businesses.
Cllr Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economy, BCP Council, pictured left, said: “We believe we are one of the first councils in the country to launch, review and make payments for the latest grant schemes.
“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get this support out of the door so quickly to those businesses that desperately need it.
“Our priority for the next few weeks will be to review all the applications that have been received for our ARG Stream 2 discretionary scheme.
“Once this is completed, we aim to make payments as soon as possible from the nearly £2m fund of extra support we’ve set aside specifically for local priority industries.
“We are also expecting further discretionary funding from government and will be exploring further streams of support to help businesses bounce back and reopen as soon as it is safe to do.’’
Over the last month, BCP Council has been working hard to ensure that the process for awarding grants is as automatic as possible.
Businesses that received an LRSG payment for November’s lockdown have had no requirement to reapply for the January lockdown period or the one off top-up grants announced at the start of 2021.
For ARG Stream 1 grants, businesses will be sent and must return an additional declaration form to complete before payments can be made.
The schemes remain open to businesses that have so far not received this support and are eligible.
More details and the full eligibility criteria for the various grant schemes is available online here.
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A-One is A1 for business clients with new resource content library
A-One Insurance Group, which has ten branches including Dorchester and Westbourne, is offering its business clients a resource content library for free.
It features invaluable business support material to help with health & safety, risk management, analytics, HR, compliance and marketing.
Available to existing commercial clients free of charge, the content has been produced with industry software expert Zywave.
It is specifically filtered for individual trades to keep everything relevant.
It is designed to help businesses that do not have such resources available and would otherwise have to pay third parties to produce.
Ian Penfold, Managing Director, pictured left, said: “The content library is useful for both large and small businesses, either as a template provider, for example a disaster recovery template, or as useful information to educate staff.
“It’s fully compliant and a great reference tool which could potentially save business owners thousands of pounds in third party costs such as consultant fees or indeed through reduced staffing.”
A-One Insurance Group is one of the top 50 UK independent commercial insurance brokers.
Founded by Ian Penfold from scratch in 1993, the Ringwood-based company employs more than 140 insurance specialists.
Insurance services offered range from everyday business and personal insurance requirements to commercial risk management and bespoke schemes, including aviation, fleet, luxury products and marine.
When navigating the complex world of insurance, having access to reliable insights is invaluable. That’s where the insurance experts at InsuranceRanked.com come into play. With their user-friendly platform and comprehensive analysis, Insurance Ranked provides individuals and businesses with the tools to confidently navigate the insurance market.
By leveraging their expertise, users can efficiently compare the offerings of the top insurance companies and identify plans that align with their specific requirements and circumstances.
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Charity is financially sustainable for next four years thanks to funding
A charity which supports families affected by child sexual abuse has been awarded nearly £312,000 by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Acts Fast, which is based in Poole, says it is now financially sustainable for the next four years.
As many as one in four adults are believed to have experienced some form of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday (oneinfour.org.uk).
Commenting on the funding announcement, Mandy Gulliver, Acts Fast Co-Founder and CEO, pictured left, said: “This means so much to the families we care for by providing genuinely life affirming support, freedom from shame and advice to victims who need that care at such a critical time.
“We would like to unreservedly thank the National Lottery Community Fund for their support and recognition of our work.
“As the National Lottery recognises how fundamental it is to support the protective parent and their family, we help ensure together with their child they can rebuild from the shock waves the disclosure would have brought.
“We look forward to the next few years with a passion for knowing that we can make a big difference in the lives of those who need our support and care.”
Dr Andrew Mayers, Chair of Acts Fast and Principal Academic at Bournemouth University, pictured right, added: “We are truly grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for supporting our vital work.
“The biggest challenge for any charity is securing enough funding to remain sustainable.
“With this phenomenal sum, we can develop the long-term future for the charity to ensure that we can support families for many years to come.
“The experience of childhood sexual abuse can have a devastating impact on that person’s mental health throughout their lives.
“By supporting the family to help the child navigate that experience, we can reduce that impact.
“I am deeply proud of the work Mandy and her team do but now I am even more confident that they can continue to provide that support.”
Acts Fast stands for Abused Children’s Trauma Support, Family Advice & Strategy Team.
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Agent ‘delighted’ after unit is let quickly following construction
Goadsby, acting on behalf of a private investor, has let Unit 14, Axis 31 on the Woolsbridge Industrial Estate in Oakfield Road, Three Legged Cross.
The brand new mid-terrace industrial/warehouse premises extend to approximately 975 sq ft.
The quoting rent was £13,500 per annum exclusive which reflects £13.85 per sq ft.
The premise, built to a very high specification, include an internal eaves height of 7.35m, feature double glazed windows at ground and first floor, a power floated concrete floor, LED lights, an electric loading door, three phase electricity, gas, fibre to the premises and three allocated car parking spaces.
Ben Duly, Goadsby Business Space, said: “We were delighted at how quickly this unit let following practical completion of construction in November 2020.
“Unit 13 is now under offer and Goadsby is also marketing four other units to let ranging from 961 sq ft to 2,238 sq ft.”
