Category: News

We’d like to start this week’s update with a reminder that from Monday 15 June passengers will need to wear a face covering on public transport. Exemptions to the rule include young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties. The government has issued advice on face coverings and also updated its FAQs as to what you can and cannot do at this time of the outbreak – please take a look.

Continuing on the theme of transport, this week we announced that the government has awarded a £9.8million boost for improving West Sussex Highways’ road network. This is on top of the £8million worth of road resurfacing/pothole prevention works already planned for this financial year.

We have another important transport update below which you should read if you have a bus pass, or know someone who has.

Next week we will start to see more activity on our high streets and in our town centres as non-essential shops begin to re-open. Like every part of the UK, our county’s businesses and economy have been badly impacted by coronavirus. Please help support your local place by shopping local and helping West Sussex not only recover, but thrive again.

Also please note that free bus passes from 15 June will only be valid for use after 9:30am.

New Local Authority Discretionary Grants are now available to local companies who are not eligible for the Government’s main Small Business Grant support scheme.

The Government announced in March a scheme to provide grants to businesses in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief and those working in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors. Those grants are to help businesses meet the ongoing premises related costs and challenges they are facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and are still available to qualifying applicants.

So far, Mid Sussex District Council has distributed more than £24m to nearly 1,900 local business but there are many more who don’t qualify for this support and are in desperate need of financial help during this coronavirus pandemic.

The Government has now allocated Mid Sussex District Council £1.4 million to help support businesses that were not eligible for the original grant. The Council has been asked by the Government to prioritise the following types of business for this funding, subject to eligibility:

• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces
• Regular market traders with fixed stall locations who do not have their own business rates assessment and have their main domestic residence in Mid Sussex
• Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief
• Businesses in the supply chain to the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality sectors that did not qualify for the original government business grants but pay business rates or have other property costs
• Businesses that did not qualify for the original government business grants but pay onerous business rates or have relatively high property costs
• Businesses which may have qualified for a business grant but are waiting for a business rate valuation decision from the independent Valuation Office

Applications are open to businesses outside of the categories listed above but will only be considered once these priority applications have been processed.

Local businesses are encouraged to apply for funding online at www.grantapproval.co.uk and applications must be received by Midnight on 14 June 2020. All applications will be assessed as quickly as possible after the closing date.

Councillor Stephen Hillier, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth said:

“We welcome this additional financial support from Central Government for our local businesses who have been hit so hard by this dreadful pandemic. However, we expect demand for this support to be extremely high, possibly over-subscribed, and so it will be important for us to assess each application against the set criteria swiftly and in an equitable manner.

“I urge every business that applies for this grant to provide us with as much information as possible about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected your business. Please provide evidenced details about the costs you are facing, of your lost income and information about your employees and how this funding could help you to protect local jobs.

“We’re aiming to support as many small business in our District as possible to ensure they continue to help the local economy post COVID19 but there is a limited amount of money available for this scheme and once it has been allocated the scheme will close.

“If your small business is struggling due to this coronavirus pandemic and you haven’t been able to obtain support from the Government through previous schemes then please submit your application now at www.grantapproval.co.uk”

As we enter the period of the new normal, East Grinstead non-essential shopping will begin to open up to us. Of course non- essential, depends on your view point!, but we all know now, that although we have been able to get our groceries and health care, very little else has been available to us. We may have been able to pick up a few extra items at the supermarkets, but the independents who do not sell food, have had to remain closed.

Some have moved online and many of you have been treated to an amazing service, often over and beyond what you might expect, but many of our High Street independents and their physical presence, have been sorely missed.

It has been sad to walk through East Grinstead and see the tightly closed doors and window displays stuck at Mother’s Day and Easter.

At last we are approaching a time when the Government feel it will be safe, with some extra measures, for shopping to resume. Retailers will be feverishly risk assessing their businesses and working out how they can become ‘Covid Compliant’. Fewer people in their premises, social distancing, strict rules on handling the wares, screens, queuing systems and anti-viral gels. It doesn’t sound exciting does it?, however, all of these things will be to ensure the safety of the customers and staff and to ensure their businesses can not only survive this crisis, but continue to thrive.

The traders can do all the necessary things for our safety, but the one thing they will need is a commitment from us to support them; to shop local. The traders are human beings, they a going through this crisis like the rest of us with the uncertainty of what the future holds.

So come on East Grinstead, you’ve shown how you can support the Key workers and each other through the last 10 weeks and please continue with that, but now, how about putting some money into your local economy. Every penny there goes to people who care about you and the town they trade in. Talk to the local businesses, they are ready to listen and you may find that we all have something else to really shout about.

Parking charges are set to resume in Mid Sussex car parks from Monday 8 June 2020.

Charges were suspended in Mid Sussex District Council car parks on 30 March 2020 to help residents park safely during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. With full lockdown measures in place and many people staying at home there was a shortage of on-street parking spaces, especially for the key workers travelling to and from work. The car parks provided a space for residents to park safely without adding to the road congestion.

Councillor Stephen Hillier, MSDC Cabinet Member for Economic Growth said:

“With lockdown restrictions starting to relax and people able to travel freely around the District once more, the pressure on street parking spaces has decreased significantly.

“Central Government has announced that they plan to gradually ease lockdown restrictions over the coming months. Non-essential shops will reopen in June, more people will be able to return to work and the Government hopes primary school children in England will be able to return to school.

“With the reopening of our town centres and workplaces, parking charges will help us to manage the demand for parking and ensure there is regular turnover of spaces, so people have space to park when they want to visit our towns and go shopping.

“NHS staff and care workers with a valid government permit on display will continue to receive free parking in our car parks and designated on street parking bays.”

New signage will be installed in all car parks to remind customers of how important it is to follow social distancing measures when getting in and out of vehicles or moving around the car park.

People are encouraged to use the MiPermit pay by phone service that is available in every car park to avoid contact with the machines. However, if customers choose to use a machine then signs will be on display to remind them to follow Government guidelines in respect of social distancing and hand washing.

Season ticket holders will automatically have additional time added to the end of their subscription period.

Cabinet met on Monday 1 June to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on council services and finances.

Mid Sussex District Council staff are classed as Category One Responders for the coronavirus outbreak and they have a key role to play in leading the local response to the pandemic. Cabinet heard how the Council had taken on additional responsibilities to support the local community and that the coronavirus pandemic had led to increased demand for existing services.

The Council’s benefits staff have been working hard to support local businesses, issuing over 1,800 Business Support Grants, totalling more than £23 million alongside processing and increased number of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims. There has also been a significant increase in the number of people in need of temporary housing accommodation and the amount of waste collected from households has increased because people are spending more time at home.

In addition to the increased demand for services, Council income has reduced. Car park charges were suspended on 30 March to ease pressure on the roads and help residents park safely while people were asked to stay at home. Garden waste collections, which is a paid subscription service, was paused for a month to prioritise the collection of rubbish and recycling. Fewer people are able to pay Council Tax and rental income from investment properties has reduced because businesses have been asked to close.

The Council is currently losing between £600,000 and £700,000 per month because of the coronavirus pandemic and the required lockdown measures. The Government has provided just over £1.5 million to the Council in support of the coronavirus relief effort but this only covers income lost in April and May.

Cllr Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Leader of Mid Sussex District Council said:
“I would like to thank residents across Mid Sussex for all you have done to slow the spread of Coronavirus by following the public health guidelines over the past weeks. I know these weeks have been very difficult for many people.

“The coronavirus outbreak has placed unprecedented demands on the Council and our staff have done a tremendous job to maintain our core services, support our local businesses and protect the vulnerable throughout this pandemic.

“We receive daily briefings from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and we have remained agile, particularly during the early weeks of the outbreak, to change our approach quickly as we learn more about the virus.

“Just like many local businesses, the Council is seeing significant reductions in revenue because of the coronavirus outbreak. We are grateful for the financial support the Government has provided so far but more is needed and there is no guarantee of further support at this stage.

“We are on the road to recovery from this terrible virus but it’s clear that we will all face some difficult times ahead.

“We are currently reviewing all aspects of delivering our services in the short, medium and long term, with a view to making the required savings. We expect to have a revised Corporate Plan and Budget ready as early as September.”

The Cabinet meeting was the first to be held virtually by Mid Sussex District Council since the Government introduced temporary regulations to allow committee meetings to take place via video link.

Mid Sussex District Council is set to host its first virtual council meeting since new regulations came into force last month.

On Monday 1 June, the Council’s Cabinet meeting will be hosted online using a video conferencing platform and members of the public will be able to follow the debate on the Mid Sussex District Council YouTube channel.

Ordinarily, the 1972 Local Government Act requires councillors to be present to decide applications, but the Coronavirus Act and the temporary regulations provide a virtual alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Committee meetings can now take place virtually, by phone or video link.

Tom Clark, Head of Regulatory Services at Mid Sussex District Council said:

“Hosting our Council meetings online will enable our Councillors to debate the important issues affecting our area whilst complying with the current requirement to maintain a safe social distance and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“Modern technology means that every Councillor has the opportunity to take part in our meetings as appropriate from their home and local residents can follow the meetings live.”

Full details about future virtual council meetings can be found on the Committees section of the Mid Sussex District Council website at http://midsussex.moderngov.co.uk/