Voters Encouraged to Sign up to Postal Voting for May Local Elections

Posted on By Admin Officer

Voters across the Cotswolds are being encouraged to sign up for postal voting at this year’s local elections which are due to be held on 6 May 2021.

By using a postal vote residents can make sure their voice is heard at the local elections from the safety of their home. Residents can apply for postal voting now and have to get their application in before the deadline of 20 April 2021.

Polling stations this year will have a different feel to previous years with COVID-19 safety measures being put in place in line with government guidance.  Even with a successful rollout of the vaccine, and a reduction in cases, there may still be residents who are concerned about visiting a polling station and they are being encouraged to use a postal vote as an alternative to voting in person. 

To be able to use a postal vote in this year’s elections voters must apply to do so with their local council by 20 April 2021. Voters can ask for an application form by visiting the council website at cotswold.gov.uk/registertovote or calling 01285 623002. 

A letter will be going to all residents in the Cotswold District in the coming weeks to check that voter information is accurate ahead of the election and this will include information on whether individuals are already signed up for postal voting and how to apply if they are not.

Jan Britton, Returning Officer for Cotswold District Council said, “Despite the great progress with the vaccine rollout we have to plan for the fact that voter safety will be a priority in the May elections and I would really like to encourage all voters to consider postal voting as an option for making sure their voice is heard at elections this year.
“Voting in person at polling stations will follow all the required safety procedures but we understand some people may still be concerned and postal voting is a safe and secure way of taking part in the elections in 2021.  For anyone interested in voting by post this year they just need to make sure they apply for their postal vote before the 20 April 2021 and I would encourage people to sign up sooner rather than later so they don’t miss the deadline.”

Cotswold District Council Launches ‘Crowdfund Cotswold’ To Bring Community Project Ideas to Life

Posted on By Admin Officer

Cotswold District Council is launching an exciting new online crowdfunding platform that enables residents to raise money to improve their neighbourhoods.

Working in partnership with the UK’s leading civic crowdfunding platform Spacehive, ‘Crowdfund Cotswold’ aims to give residents with ideas to enhance local places the opportunity to seek financial support.  The aim is simple – to fund and deliver on ideas to improve the Cotswold District put forward by the local community, for the local community. The Council has allocated a total of £140,000pa for the programme, with up to £10,000 available to boost projects towards their funding target.

The deadline to put forward your idea is 21 April 2021. You can get started by simply visiting Spacehive’s website and creating your own project page.   People and organisations can pledge as little as £2 towards a project and contributions are only charged if the campaign hits its target.

Spacehive will also lead a series of events online for anyone who is interested in learning a little bit more or might want to discuss ideas that they have. This includes a launch event taking place at 12:00 pm on 22 February and two project creator workshops taking place in March. Sign up and register your interest for the launch event.

Business Grant Applications open for January Lockdown as Applications Process is Simplified

Posted on By Admin Officer
The application process for all business grants via Cotswold District Council has now reopened with individuals encouraged to check their eligibility and apply through the Council website.
A series of different business grants have been made available by the Government with local businesses applying to their local council to access the funding where they are eligible.

Since the pandemic started, Cotswold District Council has distributed 2,154 grants totalling more than £22m in vital funding to local businesses.

Following the series of changes to tiers before Christmas, many businesses were left confused on what they were entitled to. 

The Council has simplified the highly complicated grant applications into two simple forms with staff ensuring that once a business applies it is allocated all the grants it is eligible for without business owners having to apply multiple times. Businesses will only need to apply once depending on whether they were closed by national restrictions or severely impacted but allowed to remain open.

The application form covers the latest lockdown grants as well as those relating to various previous restrictions in force since November.   Business owners that have applied for a grant since November do not need to re-apply by completing another form. Instead, they are being contacted by email from tomorrow and asked to indicate which grants they believe they are entitled to. Their eligibility will then be assessed by the council revenues team. 

Businesses are urged to make sure they look out for council emails if they had applied since November and put in an application if they have not done so since the November lockdown started.

Any business waiting for payment, unsure of the status of their application or wondering whether they should apply for a grant, should see the dedicated web page:

https://cotswold.gov.uk/business-and-licensing/coronavirus-business-and-licensing/coronavirus-business-grants/

National Shielding Service System – An Update from CDC

Posted on By Admin Officer

Cotswold District Council (CDC) want to update you on support available to people that are shielding or self-isolating during this lockdown.

Support available to clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) people is the same as during the November lockdown.

CEV individuals are advised that if they need any additional support to help follow the guidance, their local council may be able to help and are encouraged to register for support via the National Shielding Service System website (NSSS): www.gov.uk/coronavirus-shielding-support. The NSSS website has been activated nationally, so all CEV individuals can now use it to request support. This means that in addition to using the service to ask for priority access to supermarket deliveries, they will be able to ask for their local authority to contact them to talk about any local support that may be available. The user will see the same question on local support as was available to all CEV users during November’s national restrictions. Where CEV individuals have previously registered on the NSSS, they are able to login and update their support needs – or submit a new registration, which will automatically override the old one.

During the last lockdown CDC proactively called all CEV in the district. Numbers of those needing support were very low and they are now aware of those people. This time CDC are making contact only with those patients that have been added to the CEV list since October and those being added going forward to see if there is anything they need help with.

All other residents (not CEV)  needing help with basic things like shopping or medication during this lockdown are advised to seek help from family or friends. If this is not possible then the Gloucestershire Help Hub is available for referrals. As before, the Community Wellbeing Team will make contact with people to find appropriate local support.

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershires-community-help-hub/get-help/

Tel: 01452 583519

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New Electric Vehicle Charging Points to be Installed Across the Cotswolds

Posted on By Admin Officer

Cotswold District Council’s Cabinet has approved an ambitious strategy and delivery programme to support residents and businesses in the transition to Electric Vehicles by installing charging points across the Cotswolds. 

Demonstrating its commitment to reducing carbon emissions across the District, the Council has adopted a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Strategy that will accelerate the delivery of electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the district. 

The Council will take actions to deliver electric vehicle infrastructure in a phased approach to encourage the switch to greener vehicles. This strategy will deliver a phased installation of electric vehicle charging points in the Council’s public car parks for the benefit of residents, workers, shoppers and visitors.  

Following the initial installations and upgrades to existing units in market towns, there are plans to roll out charging points across the district by working with other landowners to ensure everyone in the Cotswolds can benefit from this charging network. The Council will be procuring an installer in January 2021 and expect installations to start later in the year.

The Council will also be working with its tenants to support the installation of charging points for those tenants that lease council-owned buildings. Work is also underway to introduce electric and hybrid vehicles to the Council’s fleet.

On its journey to net zero, the Council will seek to maximise the use of green technology in any developments or conversions it undertakes to reduce the carbon impact of buildings, aiming for net carbon zero wherever feasible. This includes the provision of electric vehicle charging for future owners or occupiers of all council-owned buildings, and all future private developments, wherever planning laws permit.

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