Council thanked by local businesses after £18 million worth of COVID grants distributed since April
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ver 1,500 businesses in South Holland who are struggling due to the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic have benefited from various Government grant schemes worth over £18.4 million distributed by South Holland District Council. Businesses from all sectors including horticulture, retail, manufacturing and market traders were invited to apply for grants of up to £25,000. Of those businesses that the council has been able to support, many owners said that the money has been vital in helping to retain jobs, offset lost income and to prepare their business for an economic recovery. Despite the large numbers of businesses who received financial help, some businesses unfortunately missed out due to high demand and a Governmentset criteria. In an effort to get more funding to local businesses, the Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Business Alok Sharma MP to ask for the removal of a ring fence on how much funds district councils could use for grant funding. The Council continues to closely monitor the initiatives coming from central Government so that South Holland businesses
can be supported as much as possible during the coming months. Councillor Nick Worth, deputy leader and portfolio holder for growth and commercialisation, said: “Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, teams from across the Council have been working flat out to ensure local businesses received grant funding as quickly and efficiently as possible. “We used every avenue to find those within the district who may be entitled to funding, aiming to help as many eligible businesses as we could. The £18.4 million we distributed through various Government grant schemes went directly into our local economy to support businesses against the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and aiding their recovery. “Whilst we weren’t able to help every business across the District, the demand for funding far outweighed what was available to us from central Government. The fact the Council wrote to the Government asking for flexibility in how grant funding could be spent demonstrates our commitment to supporting our local economy as much as we can.”
Cathedral Highlights Tours Commence Once Again
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fter a gap of nearly seven months, Peterborough Cathedral excitedly started up its guided tours again. The Highlights Tours take visitors around the Cathedral in the company of a knowledgeable guide who can share some of the wonderful stories from its many centuries of history. Peterborough Cathedral, which was an Abbey until 1541, has long been at the centre of national and international events. It was an important medieval monastery and is a royal burial place; it has survived Civil War destruction, and then been through a time of restoration and rediscovery of its Anglo-Saxon roots in the 19th century. The tours have been carefully planned to ensure that they comply
with current COVID-19 guidelines. To maintain social distancing there is a limit of just six people on each tour, so it is advisable to arrive in plenty of time. The tour times will usually be 11.00am and 2.00pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1.00pm on Sundays. The plan is that the tours continue to run at these times on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the coming months. For many of the team of volunteer guides it has been a long wait for the tours to start up again. Stephen Dodding, who will be leading one of the first tours back, said: “I can’t wait to get started again. We’re certainly living in a different world now but it will still be marvellous to meet people from Peterborough and farther afield once again through these socially
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distanced tours. With its wealth of history there can be no better place to put the world’s current woes into perspective and to demonstrate that all things pass. I look forward
to giving everyone a very warm welcome back.” It is hoped that the ever-popular Tower Tours will be running daily during October half term.
