Andrea and Susanna are an Italian family and for the past decade residents of Ealing Broadway. During Covid-19 they started a business selling Italian, high-quality bicycles in Dickens Yard.

Answering society's call for a more sustainable future, and a healthier option for travelling from A to B, Andrea and Susanna passionately believe their affordable yet stylish premium products will be perfect for everyday cycling in all weathers.

They aim to match you to your perfect bike and are confident you will fall in love with cycling when you see the stylish designs and beautiful colours.  Check out their website www.messacycles.com

Planet Organic, the leading UK health and wellbeing retailer, announced the acquisition of 'As Nature Intended', 17 - 21 High Street, just before the country went into lockdown thus delaying the launch and rebranding. However, last week we saw the new signage installed and the start of some exciting new promotions. 

With the purchase of 'As Nature Intended', Planet Organic increases its store count to become the largest specialist organic grocer chain in the UK.  Find out more here.

A huge congratulations to Rangrez,  a multi-award-winning restaurant at 79 New Broadway, and Steak on the Green, 31 Haven Green for achieving the Trip Advisors Travellers Choice Awards. A prestigious award to win as it based on reviews left by the general public.

It is great to see the hard work, and quality of service and food in these two restaurants getting the acknowledgement they deserve. 

UWL has risen to the top of the charts for delivering the best Student experience by the Sunday Times and The Times. A reassuring accolade for the class of COVID-19 as they start their academic journey.

UWL is also shortlisted for, 'Knowledge Exchange Initiative of the Year', 'Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion" and "outstanding Support for Students".

Ealing businesses wish the University luck with the awards and offer a warm welcome to the new students.

Northfields have been moving people for over 30 years in the local area, and they are passionate about supporting the local community and businesses.

They would love to feature small local businesses and places of beauty on their website to demonstrate the flavour and character of West London to potential house buyers. If your business would like to take advantage of this generous offer or you have pictures of the area looking fabulous, please submit your information here.

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to employers to create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

Funding will cover for each job placement:

• 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week.
• The associated employer National Insurance contributions.
  
• Employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

There will also be extra funding to support young people to build their experience and help them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart Scheme funded job.

Ealing council are applying to be a Kickstart Gateway so they can act as an intermediary for businesses who may only have one or two job opportunities available. 

Currently, they are information gathering to find out what businesses require so please email apprenticeships@ealing.gov.uk or call 020 8825 6234 to get more information. 

The NHS QR code must be displayed by all businesses that have people sitting or eating, drinking or congregating in their premises. The purpose of the new NHS app is to centralise information, so it can efficiently track and trace and warn people about the spread of infections. Businesses can still use other methods to collect customer data, but legally businesses must display the NHS QR code. The NHS video about the app can allay many people's fears about privacy and personal data. Find out how to download your QR code and posters here, or visit our website here.

Data journalist Katharina Buchholz has found that a shockingly low number of people in the UK self-isolate when experiencing COVID-like symptoms such as fever and coughing. Only 18% stayed at home if they had been sick in the seven days before the survey, despite 70% of respondents claiming they would self-isolate if they were to develop symptoms.

The most common reasons for leaving the house while experiencing COVID-like symptoms were grocery shopping or visiting the pharmacy. 

60% of people surveyed correctly identified a cough and a fever and, 50% correctly identified the loss of taste and smell as symptoms for COVID-19. According to the survey, males and younger people were less likely to self-isolate, request a test or inform contacts of possible exposure. 

Footfall is a constantly changing algorithm and becoming increasingly impossible to predict. We were beginning to see some improvements, but the latest announcements have curtailed the anticipated progress. The latest figures from Springboard show footfall is still not back to normal.

Closer to home we can see what happened in August to footfall across the Borough of Ealing via data that is collected on mobile apps. 

We have enclosed a copy of our BID billing overview with the printed newsletter and posted a digital version online.

At the start of the pandemic the BID office took immediate action to minimise BID costs, this ensured we had enough resource to maintain services during the last few months up until now.

Our BID overview includes a statement from the Chair of 'Make It Ealing' explaining how the BID office has had to re-configure everything planned for 2020-21, and still maintain project deliverables. 

The headline for every business is that we will be discounting our BID levy bills by 33% to reflect the period of lockdown. 

However, we will still be maintaining all our baseline cost-saving services as well as introducing new services as outlined in the 'Make It Ealing' BID billing leaflet overview.

We hope you approve of our plans as we work together to navigate the new pathways laid down by COVID-19.

If you have any queries, please contact Gerry by email or call 07943 720227