The Square Mile s recovery will create an innovative, inclusive and sustainable business eco-system
Leadenhall Market was thriving on Wednesday
Walking around the City’s streets has been a joyous experience since many businesses started to reopen their doors and welcome back customers. It has been fantastic to see the vibrancy and the buzz, which the Square Mile is so well known for, gradually returning, taking us that bit closer to the more normal times that I know we are all looking forward to.
With the vaccination roll out well underway, we can be reassured that those times are now not too far away. The City of London Corporation is committed to supporting a strong, sustainable recovery here in the Square Mile.
City of London starts to reopen as Government eases lockdown restrictions What is city talk?
The City of London Corporation has today (12 April) announced a string of events across the Square Mile, which will mark the reopening of some of its most iconic institutions and businesses, including non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality and leisure.
As the Government’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions in England reaches its second step, Lord Mayor of London William Russell and Policy Chair of the City of London Corporation Catherine McGuinness will be showing their support for local businesses. This will include visits to the Royal Exchange, One New Change, Bloomberg Arcade, Bow Lane, Middlesex Street and Petticoat Lane, which are set to reopen this week.
Policy Chair outlines Square Mile COVID recovery plan What is city talk?
Speaking at the Court of Common Council today (15 April), City of London Corporation Policy Chair Catherine McGuinness promised a strong, sustainable COVID-19 recovery in the Square Mile.
She said: “We need to encourage the return of workers and visitors, while also providing reassurance about the steps taken to protect public health throughout the City’s reopening.
“And we will always promote the Square Mile as a vibrant and thriving City with a world-class business eco-system and outstanding environments.”
The Policy Chair outlined five strands of work to achieve this:
Column by Councillor Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council
Last week at the county council, we launched a new funding scheme to support Lincolnshireâs small businesses that hadnât had any government funding to date.
We received applications to our Business Recovery Fund for more than £3million in just two days. Weâre now processing over 400 applications before we can allocate funding of up to £10,000 to businesses who have suffered losses because they couldnât fully operate in the last year.
Coun Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council. (40485327)
We had set a 30 per cent loss threshold, so we knew we were getting funding to those who needed it most, but we had many businesses who didnât quite meet this criteria, so recently the scheme has been re-opened without this threshold to allow more small businesses the chance to apply.