Dear Haringey Business Owner,

Welcome to Haringey Council’s Business Bulletin.

This special edition provides more detail on the second step in the government’s roadmap to reopening businesses and venues, which came into force on 12 April, and which we outlined in last week's bulletin.

We have also included a reminder that Restart Grants have launched and applications are now live.

This bulletin is compiled by the council’s Economic Development Team. Please do let us know if we can help you directly, or if we can lobby the government on your behalf to provide further support relevant to your business’s situation.

We hope that you find the bulletin useful and welcome your feedback – we have a dedicated business support team available at business@haringey.gov.uk

For enquiries regarding the latest regulations, please email us at covid19concerns@haringey.gov.uk

For specific enquiries, please contact the relevant team:

• Business Grants:
  LRSG@haringey.gov.uk
• Business Rates:
  business.rates@haringey.gov.uk
• Commercial Property rented from the council:
  commercial.rent@haringey.gov.uk

Reopening your business

The government has set out its COVID-19 roadmap out of lockdown. The roadmap sets out each stage of the process in four steps, examining and reassessing the data and impact before progressing to the following step. Restrictions will be eased gradually towards recovery which aims to safeguard livelihoods, but in a way that is safe and continues to protect the NHS. Businesses cannot operate in the same way they did before.

Every business must make sure they are COVID-19 secure and can maintain social distancing before they reopen. These measures are vital to safeguard the safety of your business, staff and customers as well as the wider community and will help restore public confidence in our town centres.

New reopening guides

To help businesses implement the new working practices outlined by the central government, we have put together a dedicated webpage with all of the key information on which businesses are able to open, measures that should be put in place including the implementation of QR codes, as well as working safely guidance.

If you need some help and support to reopen your business, you can also download one of our updated reopening guides:

• Reopening guide for non-essential retail - April 2021 (PDF, 704KB)
• Reopening your business - guidance for hospitality (PDF, 527KB)
• Reopening your business - guidance for close contact services (PDF, 617KB)

These guides, as well as many other assets, are available in other languages. If you require any of this information translated into another language, please contact business@haringey.gov.uk

Supporting businesses to operate in a COVID-safe way

As we continue to experience the difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to support businesses to operate in a COVID-safe way.

We have created the COVID-Safe Business Campaign to do just this. By completing the COVID-safe questionnaire, you will be declaring that you are following government guidance to operate within safe parameters with regards to protecting your customers and staff. If you meet all the criteria, we will send you a personalised COVID-Safe Business poster, which you can display on your premises, providing extra confidence to your customers.

To register, business premises or venues must:

• declare compliance to a range of measures including:
  • undertaking a comprehensive COVID-19 risk assessment
  • putting in place appropriate controls
  • training staff so they adhere to COVID-19 control measures
  • complying with government and industry guidance to operate safely
• declare that they will keep up to date with that guidance and advice

Each month, we will publish the names of all businesses who have successfully registered on the council’s website, on social media and in the Haringey Business Bulletin, helping you to get the message to customers that you are operating in a COVID-safe manner. Find out more and complete the questionnaire at the COVID-safe business campaign webpage.

Restart Grants now open for applications

The government announced the Restart Grants scheme as part of the Budget on 3 May 2021.

The scheme supports businesses in reopening safely as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

This support takes the form of a one-off grant applicable from 1 April 2021. The primary principle of the Restart Grant scheme is to support businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed rate paying premises, in the relevant sectors.

Find further information and eligibility details at our dedicated webpage.

Lateral flow testing poster for businesses

The poster below is being distributed to businesses across the borough to aid the uptake of lateral flow testing and help to curb the spread of COVID-19:

• Lateral flow (symptom-free) testing information for businesses poster (PDF, 527KB)

And finally...

Please get in touch if you have any further questions, if you are experiencing difficulties and need to reach out, or if you would like to know about wider business support that is on offer.

You can email our Business Support Team at business@haringey.gov.uk

Stay up to date

Sign up to Haringey People Extra, our weekly e-newsletter

The council will be regularly updating our website and sending email newsletters to keep residents and businesses up to date with developments around COVID-19 and updates that could impact our community.

Please encourage friends and family to visit our website and sign up to the newsletter, so they too can stay connected with what's happening in our borough.