How Eastbourne council is helping residents during lockdown

And it is reiterating the government’s national message to ‘Stay at Home – Protect the NHS – Save Lives’.

The Community Hub helpline is continuing to operate as before, in strong partnership with the local voluntary and community sector and with staff from the Tourist Information Centre supplementing usual contact centre staff.

Anyone needing support should call Eastbourne 679722 and the lines are open 8.30am-5pm, Monday to Friday.

A spokesperson at the council, which has 450 staff working remotely from home and a small number of people working from the Town Hall in Grove Road, said it is still able to offer priority supermarket delivery slots to those in need.

The spokesperson said council officers are waiting for advice from the government about the new grant scheme – announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak this week – for businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors which were all mandated to close under the third national lockdown.

The grant is a one-off payment of up to £9,000 dependant on the rateable value the business premises.

For businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or less the payment will be £4,000. Businesses with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000 the payment will be £6,000 and for businesses with a rateable value above £51,000 it will be £9,000.

The council spokesperson said, “Council officers will advise on the detail of the new scheme and when businesses can start applying for the grant, once “guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is received.