If you haven’t done so already, do take a look at the Mayor of London’s re-vamped
London Business Hub website. There’s all sorts of information, advice and guidance available to support your business through the pandemic, Lockdown No.2, and beyond that the transition out of the EU. The information is presented in really digestible formats, including videos, podcasts, case studies etc. Let’s get through this together!
New national restrictions have been set out since 5th November to prevent the spread of COVID-19. New measures include:
Stay at home – you must not leave/be outside your home expect for specific purposes, including essential activity, work, medical reasons, education and childcare. In general, you must not meet with another person socially, however you can exercise or meet in a public, outdoors space with people you live with, your support bubble, or with one other person. Public outdoor places include neighbourhood streets, parks, benches, public gardens and grounds, allotments and outdoor playgrounds.
In order to reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close to impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. These include non-essential retail, however these venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect and delivery services.
Financially, flexibility of the current Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be retained to allow employees to continue to work where they can. The Job Support Scheme will not be introduced until after the CJRS ends. The Government has also published guidance for local authorities on paying grants to support businesses during the November to December 2020 national lockdown and periods of local restrictions. This includes the Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG) and Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). You can read a summary of all the financial support available here.
In terms of business loans, the Government’s three Coronavirus business interruption loan schemes – the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) – will be extended to 31 January 2021. The Future Fund will also be extended. Find out more here.
With everything now being virtual, CRP wanted to bridge our people and projects by putting together short videos for CRP’s Clean Air Villages (CAV) programme. The CAV videos are aimed at locals within each of CAV’s 16 villages, where they can hear from CRP’s Project Officers about potential Air Quality solutions being explored. What’s most special about the videos is that they feature a range of local community stakeholders such as Ward Councillors, local council representatives and BID managers who call out to businesses and community members on the importance and long-term benefits of a sustainable and green recovery from COVID-19.
Villages videos have been created with Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, King’s College Hospital (Lambeth), South Bank BID and The Fitzrovia Partnership (see Chief Operation Officer Lee Lyons above).
Each village is diverse in terms of the CAV objectives, ranging from hospitals, communities and businesses thus, showcasing the variety within CAV villages and our work. Please watch the videos on our YouTube channel.
For more information, please contact CRP Project Officer Anusha Rajamani.
We are now over three quarters of the way through our programme of 16 LiveShares, and we would like to thank all of those who have attended, contributed and presented so far! We have been joined by experts from across the industries of transport, business and environment, discussing a range of topics to help facilitate knowledge sharing and lessons of best practice.
We are continuing to bring industry experts together and CRP’s next LiveShare will be no exception. Make sure you tune in on Thursday 12th November, 2pm. This session will look at how London has changed since the pandemic, assessing the contribution of its green and accessible spaces. We will be joined by the London Borough of Lambeth, The Association of Directors of Public Health (UK), Wheels for Wellbeing and our very own Healthy Streets Everyday programme.
During the session, CRP will launch its Mobility Guidance Document, helping London work towards becoming an accessible city for all.
Sign up here to reserve a space!
If you are not able to make a session, don’t worry! All of our LiveShares are posted on our YouTube channel for you to view and share whenever you like. Remember to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to receive all our LiveShare updates and upcoming sessions. We hope to see you very soon!
For more information, please contact CRP Guidance Manager Tomos Joyce.
Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) are difficult to define, with each aspect – ‘smart’, ‘local’, and even ‘energy system’ – open to various interpretations. The scale, approach, technologies and stakeholders can therefore vary from one system to the next. Common ground can be found, however, in the benefits SLES aim to achieve, and the barriers they must overcome.
CRP’s EV Fleet-centred Local Energy System (EFLES) project is providing a business case for commercial fleets to integrate EVs within a Smart Local Energy System. EFLES aims to unlock new revenue streams and reduce operational costs for EV fleet operators. The project is being delivered alongside UPS, UK Power Networks Services and Moixa as part of Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
SLES have emerged in response to key trends driving the current energy revolution:
Decarbonisation – the share of energy derived from renewable sources continues to increase, with the UK energy system legally required to decarbonise to net zero by 2050.
Decentralisation – energy generated close to its point of use, rather than distributed via the national grid, is helping to create a fairer and more sustainable energy system.
Digitalisation – the rise of internet-connected devices and advances in automation enable us to use resources more effectively.
Democratisation – small scale, local energy assets create opportunities for communities to engage with the planning, operation and management of their own energy systems.
SLES provide the opportunity to address several pressing policy challenges: reducing carbon emissions, ensuring energy supply meets demand, engaging and empowering communities, tackling fuel poverty, and reviving local economies [ref].
For more information, please contact CRP Air Quality Analysis Officer Abby McDougall.
CRP’s Spotlight On: Better Bankside
This week, we are showcasing the work of CRP BID partner Better Bankside, who are working on active travel initiatives in the vibrant, creative area spanning between London Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge, south of the river. Hear what Kate Poulter has to say about Better Bankside’s most recent work:
Better Bankside has further ramped up its cycling offer to encourage Banksiders who are keen to adopt a new way of commuting to choose a bike. For the last few months, Bankside Bike Trains have given first time or nervous cyclists the opportunity to practise their commute into the area by joining rides led by qualified instructors. The Bike Trains pick up from various London stations and make return trips to and from Bankside, boosting the confidence of those who may not have been certain enough to cycle alone.
To overcome concerns about where to safely store a bike, Better Bankside also launched the a new Secure Cycle Park with increased capacity and a digital, contact free entry system which allows access 24/7. Almost 100 local employees are already registered. More regular Dr Bike sessions have been taking place in outdoor spaces to offer free basic bike checks to Banksiders and we’ve partnered a local repair shop to offer free bike maintenance vouchers to local employees.
Better Bankside has always advocated the benefits of cycling; these new initiatives sit alongside an already robust package of cycling offers for Banksiders. The pink Brompton bikes loaned out to Bankside’s employees have grown in popularity over the last few months. Better Bankside has increased this fleet further by investing in three new electric bikes, providing new ways of helping people commute by bike.
As the BID continues to innovate and find ways to promote active ways of travel, a new Bankside Lunch Club has also just been launched to bring lunch from Bankside’s restaurants and cafes to deskbound officer workers in the area, using cargo bike.
London’s recovery from the pandemic is being led by the London Recovery Board, chaired jointly by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Chair of London Councils. As part of this work, the GLA is looking into developing the skills training offer in green industries in the capital. This will involve engaging with businesses, skills providers and boroughs to understand the specific skills, accreditations, entry pathways and training courses needed. The deadline for responses to this survey is Friday 6th November.
The Mayor of London‘s Culture and Creative Industries Unit wants to know what skills and training you would like to attend if it was available. The data collected will inform how we best support the culture and creative industries sector in the coming months. The short survey has 8 questions and takes 3 minutes.
As London is put into Tier 2 ‘lockdown’ category, our thoughts are with all of the residents, businesses and visitors trying to keep going safely, and trying to balance all of their health, family, friends, finance, employment, education, travel etc. issues.
We’re definitely all in it together! And we all need to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to take care of each other. The Oxford Dictionary definition of Wellbeing is: A state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. There are five recognised Pillars to Wellbeing: Connect, Learn, Be Active, Take Notice, Give.
CRP’s accountable body Westminster City Council has set up a network of Wellbeing Pioneers, including the authority’s Chief Executive Stuart Love, available for staff to reach out to at any time. The pandemic’s social isolation has led to increased mental health issues. It has also affected people’s traditional coping mechanisms, so new coping mechanisms are needing to be developed, quickly.
There is an ongoing COVID-19 Social Survey being run by UCL, the largest of its kind. 85,000 people are already taking part. Do sign up here if you would like to take part. CRP has set up up COVID-19 support page on its website, including a section on Health and Wellbeing. The most important thing is to share any concerns that you have. As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved.
World Cities Day was established by the United Nations in 2014. The day, which takes place annually on 31st October, aims to promote international community interest to address challenges on the role of urbanisation and mutually providing solutions to sustainable urban development worldwide.
In order to build back better as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRP Board agreed at it’s meeting on 25th September to commission a study looking at the future roles for London’s Centres. This work will further complement the studies published by Centre for London and commissioned by the Mayor of London. CRP looks forward to publishing the results of the study in the future when available.
For further information, please contact CRP Operations Manager Carol Quamina.
