Current status
As of 12 April, we are in Step 2 of the roadmap out of lockdown.
People are allowed to gather outdoors in groups of six, or two households. The stay-at-home order has ended but people are still encouraged to minimise travel and stay local.
Outdoor hospitality can reopen (pub gardens and pavement cafés), as can self-contained accommodation, zoos, theme parks and outdoor attractions.
Four-step roadmap
Read about the government's four-step route out of lockdown here: Covid-19 Response – Spring 2021.
Local support
1066 Country spans five local councils. Here are the links to their business information pages: Hastings, Rother and Wealden, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford, where you will find information on all the grants and support available.
We recommend also signing up for your local council's newsletter, to be kept informed when new grants go live. Here are the newsletter links for Hastings, Rother and Ashford. For Wealden and Tunbridge Wells, follow them on Facebook.
At county level, Business East Sussex is providing business recovery advice, a daily update, finance information and webinars.
Local Restriction Support Grants
Local Restriction Support Grants are available for businesses affected by the Tier System restrictions, who pay business rates. From the start of the third national lockdown there is also a Local Restriction Support Grant (Addendum), and a Closed Business Lockdown Payment. Councils have merged the applications for all three, and payments have now mostly been made – check the links to each council given above.
Discretionary Grants
Another round of Discretionary / Additional Support Grants may also be available, depending on which council you fall under – and the application dates vary. Here are the links to Hastings, Rother, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, and Wealden (tbc).
Resources
Visit Britain's Business Hub brings together various useful resources, such as the latest developments affecting tourism and hospitality, a consumer sentiment tracker, and guidance on reopening. Here's a link to the latest updates for the tourism industry.

UK Hospitality has been providing excellent free resources during the pandemic (usually available to paying members only), including reopening guidance, a daily email update, and a very useful risk assessment template.
Likewise the Professional Association of Self Caterers (PASCUK) has been providing free resources including a daily update, cleaning checklists, a template for writing to insurance companies, and a risk assessment.
Face coverings
The government has updated its guidance on when, where and how to wear face coverings – you can read it here.
Gatherings, public spaces and activities
This guidance is being regularly updated, and we recommend you check the latest status on the government's Visitor Economy page.
Campaigns
From Know Before You Go and Respect, Protect, Enjoy, we've now moved on to the Escape the Everyday campaign, which aims to encourage Brits to take a short break in the UK this coming year. You can download the campaign toolkit here.
Reopening safely
Use this guidance to help you carry out a risk assessment and make sensible adjustments to the site and workforce. And this sector-specific guidance to make your workplace Covid-secure.
Reporting an outbreak
Public Health England has created a folder of downloadable resources specifically for tourist attractions, holiday resorts and events. These are for displaying in staff areas, and explain the steps that must be taken in the event of an outbreak.
We're Good to Go
We urge all of our members to apply for the new industry standard: We're Good to Go. Members who have already been certified are listed here. The mark is free to apply for, and takes the form of an online questionnaire.
Training and webinars
Visit Britain are running a second series of Business Recovery Webinars throughout the autumn, covering topics from content creation to using Google Digital Garage.
Experience West Sussex also ran a useful series of webinars earlier this year called Survive, Revive and Thrive – you can watch the recordings here.
Case studies
One of the silver linings of the past few months has been our members coming together and getting to know each other better. Thank you to everyone who let us interview them about reopening – read the case studies here. We've also pulled together our top five tips for communicating with customers during this period.
Other grants
National Lottery Project Grants – £1,000 to £100,000, closes April 2021
Culture Recovery Fund Repayable Finance – loans of over £3m, dates TBC
