Restaurants and other venues serving food for consumption on the premises can now register for the Governments' Eat Out to Help Out scheme which runs from 3 to 31 August.
You can register if your venue:
Sells food for immediate consumption on the premises;
Provides its own dining area or shares a dining area with another establishment for eat-in meals; and
Was registered as a food business with the local authority on or before 7 July.
For further details and to register your business please visit: https://bit.ly/EOHORegistration. Registration will close on 31 August.
Businesses taking part can access promotional materials here.
Since 2017, Sheffield BID's restaurant week (Dine Sheffield) has celebrated the city centre's vibrant dining scene, combining fabulous eateries with great food offers. We're now re-purposing the Dine Sheffield website to feature the restaurants, cafes and pubs that are signing up to the government's Eat Out to Help Outscheme. This will be backed by a collaborative marketing campaign. If you've already signed up to the government scheme, or are planning to, please let us know.
From 24 July, it will be mandatory to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets. Exemptions include young children, people with breathing difficulties and those living with a disability.
Disposing of business waste (including PPE and face coverings)
New guidance on how to dispose of your business waste, including face coverings and personal protective equipment (PPE), during the coronavirus pandemic has also been published here: https://bit.ly/CV19Waste.
Interview opportunity
ITV News will be filming in Sheffield City Centre this Friday (24 July) and would like to interview local retailers. If you're interested in participating in the filming, please get in touch.
Pavement Cafe consent
Did you know that Sheffield City Council has launched a free Pavement Café scheme? It allows businesses to quickly apply for consent to expand their service area by placing tables and chairs outside of their premises. All businesses can apply, including those who would like to use the seating for non-hospitality related uses, such as a waiting area. The temporary scheme will last until December 2020 and no planning permission is required.
Sheffield City Council has opened applications for its Coronavirus Business Grants Scheme for a second time, giving more businesses who have not received any other support the opportunity to apply for grants between £1,000 and £10,000, depending on the size of the business. The eligibility criteria of this scheme will also now be expanded to include businesses with a rental value of up to £25,000 (previously £15,000). Applications will be open until midnight on Friday, 31 July.
As an inspiring alternative to 'Welcome Back’ or ‘Open for business’ campaigns, a new city-wide marketing initiative has been launched by Marketing Sheffield. Make Yourself At Home is a longer term message that can be adopted not only by businesses, but also by Public Health and the City Council to create a sense of pride in our city and encourage people to do the right things to keep our city open.
This is a project that individual businesses and organisations can use to their own benefit and in doing so create a common language to produce a halo effect for the city at a time when solidarity is extremely beneficial to our mutual interests.
You can download a range of marketing assets to use on websites, email footers, social media profiles, etc.
New commission free app to boost hospitality sector
Sheffield is a city that's proud of its food and drink scene, and also one with an increasing presence in digital and tech. Now these two are combining to create iBe – a new commission free way for independents to deliver to customers, as well as serve them on premises. Due to launch later this month, the new app will help ensure more of the money stays in the local economy too. iBe will also enable voucher and deal promotions to be sold commission free, meaning businesses can also experiment with different offers to different audiences. iBe will be available in app stores later this month.
Developed in Sheffield, Geo for Business is a direct digital marketing platform allowing business owners to send vibrant digital promotions directly to people’s smartphones. Using cutting-edge geofencing technology, you can target customers in specific geographical locations. Publish your digital promotions in minutes and users will instantly receive a smartphone notification. There’s no subscription, no contract, and it’s easy-to -use.
To help our network during these challenging times, our team has secured free advertising credit for both BID levy payers and non-levy payers who sign up to the platform. BID levy payers will exclusively receive free credit up to the value of their annual BID levy, while non-payers will receive £250 free advertising credit.
All you need to do initially is register a valid business email address on the Geo for Business platform to express your interest in early access. Geo will then let you know when you can get started with setting up your account and your free BID credit will be added to the account.
Our annual BID Spring Clean was cancelled in March because of COVID-19. This Autumn we'll be supporting the Great British September Clean between 11 - 27 September. Once again we're calling on you - our #LitterHeroes - to be part of a volunteer litter pick and do your bit to care for the environment on your doorstep, as we join forces to collect and safely dispose of litter from our city centre. If you'd like to join in this year's activity (date TBC) please get in touch to register your interest.
It's now been over a month since our retail businesses, and more recently hospitality, began to reopen. Check out the graph above for latest recorded footfall figures in main retail areas (camera locations include Fargate, The Moor and Division Street). Please get in touch if you need more detailed information.
COVID-19 business impact survey
Analysis of the Council's recent survey into the impact of COVID-19 can be found here.
They’ve now released a new survey designed to capture the current situation – it takes about four minutes to complete and the deadline for responses is 2 August.
John Lewis has announced it will reopen to customers on 30 July.
Stowe Family Law has strengthened its Yorkshire roots byopening an office in Sheffield, its eighth in the county. This takes the firm’s national presence to 23 offices, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s largest specialist family law practices.
Plans have been submitted to turn the former Santander bank, on the corner of High Street and York Street, into a dining venue that would operate on the ground floor of the Grade II-listed Telegraph House.
Work is poised to start this month on a 17 storey £61m flats complex on the old Grunwerg site on Rockingham Street. The development comprises of five blocks, up to 17 storeys with 794 beds for mainly student accommodation. 106 beds will be for up-market flats aimed at young professionals.
We're looking for a new independent Chair of the BID
We are looking to appoint a new Chair, someone actively involved in the city, who will add value to the Board of Sheffield BID with strategic leadership skills, a passion for the city centre and the wider city. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Suzy Brain England for her tireless support of the BID over the past four years. She will be greatly missed but we look forward to working with Suzy in her varied senior roles across Sheffield City Region. Details of the Chair's role will be published on our website next week. In the meantime, anyone requiring further information should get in touch with the Sheffield BID Manager, Diane Jarvis.
