Stratford-on-Avon District Council COVID-19 daily update - 9 April

During the COVID-19 Pandemic Stratford-on-Avon District Council will issue a daily update (from Monday to Friday) for residents and businesses.  

Key updates - 9 April

The District Council office switchboard is closed over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, but you can still access services online at www.stratford.gov.uk or www.stratford.gov.uk/coronavirus

If you have no local support please call the dedicated helpline on 0800 4081447 or go to http://warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusextremelyvulnerable for more information.

 As we come to the Easter Bank Holiday we wanted to update residents and business on the key things we have done so far in response to the COVID-19 emergency: 

• Ensured that other than those services impacted by social distancing rules all District Council services have continued to be delivered
• Maintained refuse, recycling and green waste collection service as normal
• Being a first point of contact for residents, businesses and the local community. Overall call numbers are up 25% although some days saw calls up by over 100%.
• Set up a fully functioning and operational Community Hub for food deliveries
• 360 deliveries from the Community Hub to the most vulnerable in the local community to date
• Provided emergency accommodation for the homeless to protect them from the additional risks of COVID-19 caused by living on the streets
• Set up an online business grants application form to speed up processing in a secure manner
• To date over 1,100 business grant applications received and 414 business grant payments made totalling £6.035m
• Provided individual support to residents struggling to pay Council Tax
• Set up a dedicated COVID-19 information section on the SDC website where detailed updates are available
• Made parking free in SDC car parks for NHS staff and Registered Volunteers
• Made constitutional changes to the running of the Council to ensure decision making can continue
• Made an immediate grant of £40,000 to ensure VASA can continue to operate over the next 3 months.
  
  

Government Support
An initial payment of £1.6bn has been made to Councils with the majority  going to authorities leading on COVID-19 who will have increased demands for providing adult and child social care services plus money to all Councils for immediate needs. The District Council has received £43,500 and Warwickshire County Council £14.07m.

Cllr Daren Pemberton, Deputy Leader and Place Portfolio at the District Council says: "As we approach the Easter Break we reflect on how much has changed for all of us. Our job at the Council is to try to support our residents, businesses and communities at this hugely difficult time while ensuring as many of our services just keep going on in the background."

He went on to say that: "We know that social Isolation rules are really tough but they are in place to protect every single one of us. It is really big ask for everyone to stay at home, particularly when the weather is good and we have the Easter Weekend to look forward to. This is a time when we want to see our family, friends and neighbours. We are, after all, social animals.

"So please, please, resist any temptation to meet up and chat in a group, whether that be on the Rec, Big Meadow, a park, the Greenway, anywhere in the street or outside our own houses. None of us can know if we have COVID-19 unless or until we have symptoms and so cannot know if or when we are infectious to others or susceptible to infection.

"It is just not worth taking the risk for a 10 minute chat or cup of tea, (or insert drink of choice here) with your mates as they could be infected by you or they can infect you. The risk then transfers to anyone living with you. By and large, they are the most important people in your lives. This is not a lottery you want to win.

"The first stage in beating this thing is to reduce the rate of infection to the point that the restrictions on all of us can begin to be lifted. So enjoy Easter, but please....stay safe, stay healthy and stay socially isolated."

COVID-19 dedicated section on our website: https://www.stratford.gov.uk/coronavirus