EU - End of Transition Readiness
Webinar - 8th December 2020 from 3:00 pm - 4:30pm
We are very pleased that our panellists will be:
- Alan Rides MD Hounslow Chamber of Commerce - Former DIT Trade Officer
- Phil Rees - Commercial Director, OCS Worldwide
- Nauzar Manekshaw - Director – Branduin Business Support
Covering:
- HR / Business Travel
- Data Protection / Intellectual Property
- E-Commerce - VAT and Taxation
Followed by Q&As
Sponsored by
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Shops can stay open longer in the run-up to Christmas (courtesy of White Label)
Retailers will be allowed to extend their daily opening hours Monday-Saturday throughout December and January, the government has announced.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick made the announcement today, which could see shops trading 24/7, and it will come into effect from Wednesday (2 December) – as England returns to a tiered system.
Under the reintroduced tier system, all non-essential shops are allowed to reopen and the announcement today removes the need for retailers to apply to remove or vary the conditions usually applied to opening hours, which normally takes several weeks.
The government hopes the measures will make socially distanced shopping easier by giving people greater flexibility to choose when they shop and ease transport pressures.
While restrictions on opening hours are being relaxed, councils still have powers they can enforce if they suspect shops are not being COVID-secure.
Mr Jenrick said: “None of us entirely enjoy navigating the crowds, especially now when social distancing is so important for controlling the pandemic. So with these changes your local shops can open longer, ensuring more pleasant and safer shopping with less pressure on public transport. How long will be a choice for shopkeepers and at the discretion of the council. Councils should offer these hard-pressed entrepreneurs and businesses the greatest possible flexibility this festive season.”
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Applications are now open for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses)
This grant is only available to businesses that are registered for business rates with Hammersmith &Fulham Council and were required to close during the national lockdown from 5 November to 2 December 2020.
You must also:
- Be registered for business rates with H&F Council and be the ratepayer
- Was open and operating a table service until 4 November 2020
- Be closed or have moved to a take-away, delivery or click and collect service during lockdown.
How much will my business get?
The amount you get depends on the rateable value of the business property that you occupy. For every 28 days of lockdown period:
- If your rateable value is £15,000 or less, you will receive £1,334
- If your rateable value is over £15,000 and less that £51,000, you will receive £2,000
- If your rateable value is £51,000 or more, you will receive £3,000
Enquiries for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses )Addendum) email: businessrates@lbhf.gov.uk or telephone: 020 8753 6681 option 6
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Targeted support for residents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19
More than £12 million has been made available through the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) programme to help people to find work and to develop new skills and retrain to improve their chances of securing alternative employment. The scheme is designed to help people who have been unemployed and in receipt of benefits for at least 13 weeks. Employment advisers will support individuals for up to six months and candidates will have access to online courses, training and information on suitable vacancies. Find out more here.
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Are you a woman interested in any of the varied roles available in the Construction Industry? Women Into Construction is partnering with West London College and the Mayor's Construction Academy West London to run a programme for 15 unemployed women. The programme will enable you to gain a CSCS card and includes a two-week work placement followed by support to gain employment in the industry. An information session will take place on 11th January 2021 from 12.30 to 3.30 - to reserve your place you must register in advance here
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Hounslow Adult and Community Education (HACE) provide a wide range of courses to help adults discover their full potential and are currently offering an extensive range of great online learning opportunities.
Here are some upcoming free courses to help you and your family improve your digital skills
Essential Digital Skills; FREE qualification course
Learn how to use your laptop, computer or tablet to access information, use the internet and communicate online safely.
This is a 12-week course starting in January 2021, taking place over 2 mornings for 4 hours per week.
This is Entry Level 1 or 3 and before you register for the course you will need to book an initial assessment on either:
9 December (9.30am – 2.00pm) or 16 December (10.00am – 2.00pm)
Digital Skills for Employment
This course is held on a Saturday from 9.30am – 11.30am.
The course runs for 5 weeks; you can choose between 9 January - 5 February, or 27 February - 27 March.
Please call 020 8583 6000 for further information.
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From 5 December we will restart work on the Cycleway 9 project. We started working at Kew Bridge junction in December 2019 but had to pause earlier in the year due to Covid-19.
To enable these works to take place, we will need to close Kew Bridge for one night on 10 December. Please find the details of this and all other impacts on local traffic in the attached letter which will also be distributed to local addresses tomorrow. We expect to complete this section of Cycleway 9 by April 2021.
For more information and travel advice please visit tfl.gov.uk/cycleway9. We thank you for your patience while we complete these improvements.
Further information is below:
- During BT’s works (January 2021) Kew Bridge will now operate with two southbound lanes
- We no longer need to close an eastbound lane on Chiswick High Road (February 2021)
- During the first (5 to 16 December) and final phases (March 2021) we will now work weekends and shorter weekday hours
The updated information is set out below:
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Feltham improvement works update
Bedfont Lane night closures from Monday 7 December
Between the following dates:
- 9pm on Monday 7 December and 5am on Tuesday 8 December
- 9pm on Tuesday 8 December and 5am on Wednesday 9 December
- 9pm on Wednesday 9 December and 5am on Thursday 10 December
Bedfont Lane will be closed to all vehicles between Manor Place and the Lidl car park. This is to enable Hounslow Highways to resurface the road as part of the Feltham phase 2 scheme.
Vehicular access to Station Estate Road will be via New Road, and vehicular access to Sydney Road/Manor Place will be via Bedfont Lane. Vehicular diversion routes and bus diversions will be in place for the night closures.
Pedestrian access along Bedfont Lane will not be affected.
For further information about phase 1 and phase 2 of the Feltham scheme, please visit
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(courtesy of Brentford Voice)
Watermans has launched its first ever large-scale crowdfunding campaign, aiming to raise £60,000 in 4 weeks.
Along with every arts venue in the country, it has suffered a body blow in this pandemic with the current situation described by staff as ‘pretty dire’.
They say that despite securing a lifeline grant from Arts Council England and opening as soon as it safely could after the last lockdown, the simple fact is that, as it stands today, there is no guarantee that Watermans will be here, in Brentford, in its current form by this time next year.
Watermans has introduced generations of local children from all backgrounds to the joy of coming to the theatre. It’s provided a home for dance, cabaret, live music and performance in West London. It’s given thousands of young people their first taste of performing to a live audience, helped develop the careers of many young artists and inspired young people to pursue a career in the creative industries. They employ technicians, lighting designers, and front of house staff to do all this.
Now Watermans is asking those in the community who value Watermans to join together to #SaveWatermans for future generations.
Fundamentally, it will help to secure their future in Brentford, serving communities around West London. So whether you’ve got £1 or £10,000, every penny counts towards helping them to survive this body blow of a pandemic and shows Watermans that our community values its importance and continuation.
The Brentford community must cherish and develop its cultural identity as it is an important and vital step towards its sustainable development, and will contribute greatly to the liveability of our town. So if you can, do please support this fundraising campaign to ensure the existence of arts venue in Brentford at –
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A Christmas Concert Special
Seasonal Highlights
13th December at 3.00pm
Join the cast of the ever-popular Christmas shows featuring Chris Barber, Director of Music, at the Mighty Wurlitzer, in a concert that will lift your spirits and set a festive tone. He will be joined by vocalists Eleanor Rastall and Louise Eeklaar in favourites including Gesu Bambino, Winter Wonderland, and White Christmas, together with a medley from popular musicals. This will be an afternoon to remember and a moment to forget about the rest of the world.
There will a select, socially distanced audience for a very social afternoon. You will be seated at tables and will be served a glass of prosecco on arrival and a seasonal afternoon tea at the interval.
The concert will be live streamed on YouTube.
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On Monday three of us spent all day filling the goodie bags for the business awards on 9th December. We are now delivering them across west london to our Executive ticket holders.
We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the award ceremony on the 9th December at 6:00pm
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November issue of Let's Talk Business out now
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West London Local Chambers & Hounslow Chamber of Commerce are the primary support, networking, and representation organisation in west London for SMEs.
We support the interests, the commercial aspirations and the investment from businesses in Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham - the Chamber is the voice for all businesses located in the borough
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