For many local businesses your world has been turned upside down and you’ve faced challenges you never expected. People have lost their livelihoods and others have had to tell their employees the heart breaking news that their jobs no longer exist. 

London, including Royal Greenwich, is now at the ‘high’ COVID alert level, also known as ‘Tier 2’. For businesses that are allowed to be open this means that they can continue to operate if they are COVID-secure, and we want to offer you all the support we can to keep going.  

You may notice Town Centre COVID Stewards out and about in our town centres. They’ll be there over the next 12 weeks to help local businesses and residents comply with the new restrictions. They’ll engage with businesses and help to convey public health messages to members of the public.  

There is lots of information available to help and guide businesses through these difficult times. Sometimes though, having lots of information available can mean you don’t know where to start looking for the advice that’s most relevant to you and your business. One resource is the London Business Hub which helps businesses to find the right support for them. Other local sources of business support include: 

• South East Enterprise 
• Building Legacies 
• Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency (GCDA)  
• Start-ups in London Libraries  
• South East London Chamber of Commerce 
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) 

Financial support for businesses is available from central and local government schemes. The Job Support scheme supports businesses that have been required to close because of coronavirus restrictions. Applications will be open from 1 November and you will be able to apply on the Royal Greenwich website. You can find out what financial support you can get for your businesses using the GOV.UK business support finder. 

The next #AskGreenwich session will focus on what the new restrictions mean for businesses and residents and will take place on 4 November at 5pm. Look out for details about how to join the virtual session in our weekly residents’ bulletin. If you haven’t already, you should also sign up to receive our business e-alert for local business news and information.  

Cllr Danny Thorpe, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich