Election Contest Begins

Broad Street has a contested election with five candidates for three positions.  The Wardmote is on Wednesday, 23 March, at noon at Furniture Makers’ Hall, where the candidates will have an opportunity to address the electorate.  You can cast your vote on Thursday, 24 March, also at Furniture Makers’ Hall.  Easiest of course is to use a postal ballot – https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-us/voting-elections/postal-votes

 

Four More Years, Well Three Actually

The City-wide elections that were scheduled to take place in March 2021 will now be held in March 2022.

More information on these elections are available on the Common Council elections webpage and the Speak for the City(external link) website.

Find the list for every Ward on the Notices of Election page.

Find the list for every Ward on the Statement of Persons Nominated page.

Key dates

Date Time Event
22 February 2022 n/a Notice of Election
22 February 2022 9.15am Nomination period begins
1 March 2022 Noon Close of Nominations
9 March 2022 5pm Deadline for applying to vote by post
16 March 2022 5pm Deadline for applying for a proxy vote
23 March 2022 Times specific to each Ward Wardmotes
24 March 2022 8am – 8pm Polling Day for contested elections

EXTENDED – SME Business Recovery Grant Fund – £50M

The City of London Corporation launched a Covid SME Business Recovery Fund of £50 million on 4 March to support SME businesses which contribute to the Square Mile’s vibrancy at street level and directly provide services to returning City workers, visitors, and residents. The deadline for applications to the Fund have been extended until 30 June 2021. For more information click here.

Support Scheme Through Covid-19

The City of London Corporation has agreed to launch a new £10 million grant scheme to support Square Mile businesses that have been hit by restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 Omicron variant.  The support is targeted at businesses that primarily operate in the City of London in the retail, hospitality, leisure, and medical sectors.

An estimated 1,100 businesses are expected to qualify for support. Only businesses that were in occupation on 1 April 2021 and have been in occupation continuously since this date will be eligible to apply for a grant. The City Corporation will be contacting most businesses that qualify directly and inviting them to apply for this support through an online application process. Other businesses will also be able to apply via the City Corporation website.

The majority of funding will be provided by the City Corporation, with additional financing provided through the Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant. If a business operates from more than one location in the City, they will qualify for a grant for each location.

The scheme goes further than the Government support being offered through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme which excludes retail and some personal service sectors from the scheme. The two grant schemes will run in tandem and will both be accessible through the same application process.

Businesses with lower and medium rateable values will receive higher levels of grant on the basis that SME businesses may be more at risk and less able to cope with the reduction of “in person” trade.

  • Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under will be eligible for a grant of £12,000.
  • Businesses with a rateable value of over £15,001 and less than £51,000 will be eligible for a grant of £12,000.
  • Businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 and over will eligible for a payment of £5,334.

All Change @ Bank Consultations

Public consultation on proposals to change how Bank Junction operates is open until Monday, 10 May 2021. How to take part in the consultation can be found at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/allchangeatbank.

The All Change at Bank project is looking towards the future of the area around Bank Station.  The underground station upgrade is due to open at the end of 2022.

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SME Business Recovery Grant Fund – £50M

Business Recovery Grant Fund

The City Court of Common Council has agreed to create a grant fund (4 March) for City SME Businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The scheme is designed to support businesses which contribute to the City’s vibrancy at street level and directly provide services to returning City workers, visitors, and residents. The necessary infrastructure for a successful City has been affected by enforced closure or low footfall and this scheme will seek to support those businesses that can evidence, through the grant application process, a likelihood that with support they have a reasonable chance to survive beyond the short term.

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