-
01243 811810
West Sussex County Council
17
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Town and Parish News
16
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
Chichester District Council
16
-
15 April 2021
Issued by the Communications Team—publicrelations@chichester.gov.uk
www.chichester.gov.uk/coronavirus
www.facebook.com/ChichesterDistrictCouncil
This briefing is to keep you updatedon the evolving situation around coronavirus (COVID-19) and the actions being taken in the district. It also includes general local updates.
Who does it affect?
- Residents and businesses within the district
- Chichester District Council staff and councillors
- Parish councils
- Community groups and charitable organisations
In this briefing
- Latest update
Local news
- Service status
- Online Book of Condolence for the Duke of Edinburgh
- Support Local campaign
- Customer Service centre
- Business Enabling Grant Scheme
- Chichester markets
- Keeping safe across our district
- ‘Restart Grant’ and ‘Additional Restrictions Grant’ schemes for businesses
- Support for the vulnerable
- HeartSmart walks are back!
- Great Sussex Way competition
- Stay up-to-date
National news
- New campaign urges public to get tested twice a week
- Guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships
- Providing unpaid care
- Safe use of multi-purpose community facilities
- Working safely during coronavirus
- Moving home
- Visiting arrangements in care homes
- Share this newsletter with a friend
Latest update
This week, the Government announced that all over-45s would start being offered their first Covid jab, after the target for offering all over-50s and those in high-risk groups their first dose was met early. England also joined Scotland and Wales in offering the first doses of the Moderna vaccine, the latest vaccine to be administered in the UK.
As more businesses including non-essential retail were allowed to open again from Monday, The Prime Minister urged people to continue being cautious when out and about in order to keep infection rates down.
As a reminder, the Rule of 6 is back, which means that outdoor gatherings must be limited to six people or two households. You also must not socialise indoors with anyone that you do not live with or have not formed a support bubble with.
You should also continue to work from home and minimise domestic travel where you can. Face coverings should continue to be worn in secondary school and college classrooms when students return after the Easter break, unless exempt:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-coverings-in-schools-and-colleges-to-remain-in-place
For more information on which businesses are open and who you can meet, please see: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
Local News
Service statusThe majority of our services are currently operating as usual, and an update on all of our services can be found at:https://www.chichester.gov.uk/councilservicestatus
Our leisure centres, which are run in partnership with Everyone Active, have now reopened their doors for certain activities. For more information, visit:https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/westgate-leisure-centre/
Our Novium Museum and Tourist Information Centre are still closed during the current restrictions. However, they are proposing to reopen their doors on 18 May subject to step three of the Government’s plan to ease coronavirus restrictions. Please visithttps://www.thenovium.org/for updates.
Online Book of Condolence for the Duke of Edinburgh
We have created an online book of condolence on our website in memory of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh. You can access this at:www.chichester.gov.uk/condolencebook
There is also a national online book of condolence where people can leave a message for the Royal Family, which you can find at:https://www.royal.uk/condolence
The Royal Family has announced that the funeral of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh will take place on Saturday 17 April at 3pm. The funeral service will begin with a national minute’s silence in memory of the Duke. The service will be televised so that people can watch from home. You can find out more at https://www.royal.uk/funeral-duke-edinburgh-0
Due to the current COVID-19 guidance and restrictions, we are urging people to avoid gathering in public places to lay flowers. The Royal Family has also asked that members of the public consider making a donation to charity instead of leaving floral tributes.
Support Local Campaign
Our district has a fantastic range of businesses, many of them offering unique products that you can’t buy elsewhere. To help support them, we have relaunched our Support Local campaign in association with the Observer series and our partners. The campaign encourages everyone to ‘Shop Local, Spend Local, Support Local’ wherever they can in order to help businesses back onto their feet following lockdown. Please find out more at:www.chichester.gov.uk/supportlocal
As part of the campaign we are also reminding people of the importance of keeping safe and following Government guidelines so that we can continue protecting each other against the virus. We ask that people observe social distancing, wear a face covering when required, and regularly wash or sanitise their hands when visiting our high streets and local businesses.
Our Covid Ambassadors are on hand in the high streets to greet people as they visit shops and businesses, helping to control queues and encouraging social distancing. They can also be seen in tourist hotspots and areas of high footfall.
Customer Service Centre
Our priority is to keep staff and customers safe and so we are asking people wherever possible to access our services in the first instance atwww.chichester.gov.uk which is available 24 hours a day, or by email or phone. You can find a list of helpful email addresses athttps://www.chichester.gov.uk/councilservicestatus and you can call us on 01243 785166. We are currently adapting and improving our customer service area at East Pallant House site and we will provide a further update on this very soon.
Business Enabling Grant Scheme
This week our Enabling Grant Scheme went live to help small businesses in the district to access funding that will help them to grow and develop.
The scheme is separate to the range of coronavirus support on offer and offers three types of grant - one is for capital projects; another is for website and social media projects; and the third is for start-up businesses.
To find out more please visit:www.chichester.gov.uk/enablinggrantscheme
The scheme is separate to the range of coronavirus support on offer, and we would urge any businesses that have been affected by the pandemic to visit:www.chichester.gov.uk/covidbusinesssupport to see if they are eligible for a Government Covid-19 grant.
Chichester markets
This Friday, the Chichester Farmers’ Market will make a safe return to the city centre and the Wednesday and Saturday general markets will also be back in the city centre, in line with Government guidelines. The Farmers’ Market will take place in East Street between 7am and 2pm. Find out more at:www.chichester.gov.uk/farmersmarket
Keeping safe across our district
We have put together some general advice on keeping safe if you are out and about in our beautiful district. It highlights the safety measures and guidance in place and explains which agency is responsible for what. It covers facilities such as toilets and car parks; roads and cycle lanes; coastal locations; our high streets and in the community; and litter.
We often receive lots of questions on these topics, especially when visitor numbers increase within the area, and so we hope that people will find this useful. Find out more atwww.chichester.gov.uk/travelguidance
‘Restart Grant’ and ‘Additional Restrictions Grant’ schemes
The Government’s Restart Grant scheme is now open for applications. These grants aim to support businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors to reopen safely as restrictions are lifted. The scheme offers a one-off grant of up to £6,000 for non-essential retail premises, and another of up to £18,000 for non-essential hospitality, leisure, personal care and gym premises. Please visit our website to find out if you are eligible and to apply:https://www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesannouncements.
An Additional Restrictions Grant is also now live, which will help businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic but which aren’t eligible for the Restart Grants scheme. Please visit our website to see if you are eligible and to apply:https://www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesannouncements
Support for the vulnerable
We are continuing to work in partnership with West Sussex County Council to support those who are most at risk. You can contact the Community Hub if you, or someone you know, need help in these difficult times. If you have support in place, please continue to use it. You can contact the Community Hub on 033 022 27980 or online athttps://www.westsussex.gov.uk/covid19communityhubHeartSmart Walks are back!
Our HeartSmart walks are now back up and running in-line with Government guidelines and led by trained volunteer walk leaders. We aim to show you routes, encourage you to keep your heart healthy, and help you meet other people you might like to walk with. There is a full programme of walks available throughout the district with routes of differing lengths, ranging from a circumnavigation of Priory Park and gentle coastal strolls to longer walks on the South Downs. The full programme can be found at www.chichester.gov.uk/heartsmart along with details of how to book. For more information or for assistance with booking a walk, please call 01243 521041 or email info@chichesterwellbeing.org.uk
Great Sussex Way Competition
Over the month of April, Great Sussex Way (formerly Visit Chichester) is hosting a competition to learn about your perfect weekend get-away and there are some exciting prizes on offer. We have so many beautiful places and wonderful attractions to boast of in the Chichester District, that you’ll be spoilt for choice! For more details, visit: www.thegreatsussexway.org.The competition will run for the whole of April, closing at midnight on the 30th.
Stay up to date
Keep up to date on all the latest council news by visiting our Latest News page:https://www.chichester.gov.uk/latestnews. Here, you can find:
- More information about our campaign to help support local businesses and encourage people to 'Shop Local, Spend Local, Support Local',
- This week’s District Dispatch column from our Chief Executive, and
- Previous issues of our newsletter that you may have missed.
National newsNew campaign urges public to get tested twice a week
On 9 April, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a major public information campaign encouraging people to get into the habit of using lateral flow tests twice a week.
Everyone in England is able to access free, regular rapid coronavirus testing delivered through:
· a home ordering service
· workplace testing programmes, on-site or at home
· community testing
· collection at a local test site
· testing on-site at schools and colleges
· collection from participating pharmacies
The campaign will run across TV, radio, press, digital, and social media.
Announcement:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-campaign-urges-public-to-get-tested-twice-a-weekHome ordering service:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/Guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships
Guidance for people planning to get married or form a civil partnership in England has been updated to reflect changes in the national lockdown rules. You can find out more at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships
Providing unpaid care
Guidance has been updated for anyone who provides unpaid care for a friend or family member who cannot cope without their support. The update reflects changes to the national lockdown rules and includes guidance for young carers and young adult carers who provide care for someone due to them having a lifelong condition, illness, disability, serious injury, mental health condition or an addiction. Find out more at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-providing-unpaid-care
Safe use of multi-purpose community facilities
Guidance has been updated for those managing community centres, village halls and other community facilities to reflect changes to national lockdown rules. For more information visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multi-purpose-community-facilities
Working safely during coronavirus
The working safely guidance for close contact, hospitality and non-essential services has been updated. You can find out more at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/updatesMoving home
If you are moving home in England, then Government guidance around this has been updated to reflect changes in the national lockdown rules. You can find out more at:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
Visiting arrangements in care homes
The Department of Health and Social Care updated the guidance on visiting arrangements in care homes to reflect that, from 12 April, each care home resident can name up to two people who can come for regular indoor visits: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus. This also includes updates to Information on essential care givers and new information on visits involving children and young people aged under 18.
Share this with a friend
As the situation around coronavirus changes, it’s important that people across our district have the most up-to-date information possible. Please encourage your friends and family to sign up to this newsletter so that we can all be prepared and play our part in the fight against the virus. Sign up at: http://www.chichester.gov.uk/newsalerts
Chichester District Council
13
I want
to start by saying how we were all deeply saddened to hear of the death of His
Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh last Friday. Our thoughts are with Her
Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family at this time.
A national online book of condolence has been created where people can leave a message for the Royal Family, which you can find here:https://www.royal.uk/condolence We have also created an online book of condolence on our website, which can be found here:www.chichester.gov.uk/condolencebook
Due to the current COVID-19 guidance and restrictions, we are urging people to avoid gathering in public places to lay flowers. The Royal Family has also asked that members of the public consider making a donation to charity instead of leaving floral tributes in memory of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Today (12 April), we moved into step two of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, meaning that all non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality, gyms, hairdressers and salons, and outdoor attractions can now reopen their doors.
It’s been great to see our fantastic high streets in Chichester, East Wittering, Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey back in business. From one-way systems, to ensuring the correct signage and hygiene measures are available, our businesses have been putting a wide range of measures in place to keep both customers and staff safe within their premises.
We are incredibly lucky to have such a fantastic range of businesses in our district, many of which offer unique products that you can’t buy anywhere else. To help support them, we have relaunched our Support Local campaign in association with the Observer series and our partners. The campaign encourages everyone to ‘Shop Local, Spend Local, Support Local’ wherever they can in order to help businesses back onto their feet following lockdown. You can find out more at:www.chichester.gov.uk/supportlocal
The campaign is also reminding people of the importance of keeping safe and following Government guidelines so that we can continue protecting each other against the virus. We ask that people observe social distancing, wear a face covering when required, and regularly wash or sanitise their hands when visiting our high streets and local businesses. Our Covid Ambassadors are on hand in the high streets to greet people as they visit shops and businesses, helping to control queues and encouraging social distancing. They can also be seen in tourist hotspots and areas of high footfall.
Our Support Local campaign is just one of the ways in which we have been supporting local businesses. Our Revenues and Benefits team have been working incredibly hard to deliver a series of Government grants to ensure that businesses have access to financial support. To date, £15.6m has been issued in Government grants to district businesses.
If you’re a local business, I would encourage you to take a look at our website to see whether you are eligible for the Government’s new Restart Grant scheme, which is now open for applications. These grants aim to support businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors to reopen safely as restrictions are lifted. The scheme offers a one-off grant of up to £6,000 for non-essential retail premises, and another of up to £18,000 for non-essential hospitality, leisure, personal care and gym premises. An Additional Restrictions Grant also went live to help businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic but which aren’t eligible for a Restart Grant. Please visit our website to find details of all the available grants and to apply:www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesannouncements
Also this week, our Enabling Grant scheme went live to help small businesses in the district to access funding that will help them to grow and develop. The scheme is separate to the range of coronavirus support on offer and offers three types of grant - one is for capital projects; another is for website and social media projects; and the third is for start-up businesses. If you are interested in finding out more please visit:www.chichester.gov.uk/enablinggrantscheme
As well as the reopening of non-essential retail, this week sees the safe return of Chichester’s Wednesday market and Farmers’ Market to the city centre. In line with the Government’s plan to carefully ease restrictions, the markets can now resume in their normal location and I know that both traders and shoppers have been delighted to see the markets return safely to the high street. Don’t miss Friday’s Farmers’ Market in East Street between 7am and 2pm. Find out more at: www.chichester.gov.uk/farmersmarket
Finally, I just wanted to remind you that we have put together some wider advice on keeping safe if you are out and about in our beautiful district. It highlights the safety measures and guidance in place and explains which agency is responsible for what. It covers facilities such as toilets and car parks; roads and cycle lanes; coastal locations; our high streets and in the community; and litter. This can be found here:www.chichester.gov.uk/travelguidance
Please take care and keep safe.
Best Wishes
Diane Shepherd
Chief Executive at Chichester District Council
Covid-19 Vaccination Programme
19
| ||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
South Downs National Park
15
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consultation on West Dean Estate Plan
30
Have your say on your local Whole Estate Plan
LUC (Land Use Consultants -https://landuse.co.uk) has been appointed to assess the process and development of Whole Estate Plans (WEPs) forthe South Downs National Park Authority(SDNPA).
For further information about WEPs, please visit:
https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/planning-policy/whole-estate-plans/
Tounderstand the impact that the West Dean Estate plan has had on the people who live and work on (or near) the Estate, we are inviting you to take part in a short online survey. This will take no more than 5 - 10 minutes of your time.
The survey will run for 6 weeks from Monday 8th February - Sunday 21st March.
The communities local to the West Dean Estate are likely to have been consulted during the production of the plans and we would like to understand if and how you were included in the consultation, and how effective you felt this process was.
Your feedback on your experience will help us to assess the impact and challenges of the current process, and will inform any recommendations for future changes in approach.
We look forward to hearing your feedback.
To complete the survey, please visit the below website which will be live from
Monday 8th February - Sunday 21st March.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SDNPA_WholeEstatePlan_Evaluation
If you have any queries regarding this evaluation, please contact Verity Roberts:
Verity Roberts
Principal Landscape Manager, LUC
Singleton and Charlton Parish Council
18
I you are having difficulty with property
insurance in our area, concerning flood levels classification, the Environment Agency have given the following email for you to get help,
ssdenquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk