On Friday we invited small businesses which did not qualify for earlier government support to apply for grants of up to £10,000 from our £1.24 million Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund.
The types of businesses that can apply include: those sharing offices or other work spaces who do not pay business rates; market traders; B&Bs; charity properties; some businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sector awaiting a rating appeal and independent cafes and bars who operate inside larger premises.
We are also supporting Ipswich market and street traders and the leisure boats who take people on cruises from Ipswich Waterfront.
Any small businesses in Ipswich who think they qualify should go to www.ipswich.gov.uk/businessratesgrant.
The closing date for applications is Friday 26th June.
The Council continues to work on detailed proposals to re-open the town centre from Monday 15th June in line with government guidelines.
Public safety and confidence are a top priority so the town centre partnership team have decided to close Upper Brook Street temporarily during the day to enable shoppers to more easily follow social distancing guidelines without compromising their safety. Three narrow alleyways will also be closed to protect the public.
To make life easier for visitors, help support retailers and welcome people back to the town centre, the Borough Council will be making parking free of charge at Crown car park from 15th June until 3rd July.
I’m sure that everyone in Ipswich was shocked by the death, caught on camera, of George Floyd in Minneapolis. His death has rightly prompted global outrage.
I know that many people in Ipswich have been deeply affected by this, concerned not only about deep racial injustice in the USA but the significant issues we also face here in the UK as exemplified by the deportations of the Windrush generation and the lack of urgency in addressing the much higher death rate of BAME people from Covid.
On Friday night, in common with many councils across the country, we lit up the Town Hall in purple to express solidarity with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities both in Ipswich and around the world.
Black Lives DO matter.