Cornwall’s residents are being urged to support their local small businesses - and town and parish councils are being given the opportunity to apply for more money under the two final phases of the Reopening of High Streets Safely Fund(RHSSF).

There are two pots of funding: a grant of £152,000 awarded to Cornwall Council from the Government’s emergency active travel fund, and £509,000 of support to towns from the European Regional Development Fund’s Reopening High Street Safely Fund.

The Council was initially awarded EDF money to help towns across Cornwall re-open their high streets safely in June, when the country’s initial covid lockdown was eased.

Twenty five towns applied for Phase 1 funding to help them to put in place a number of safety measures over the peak summer months, many of which have remained in place.

Some of the many measures put in place include pavement, floor signage and posters for social distancing reminders, hand sanitiser stations, more frequent cleaning and Covid-certification.

This will continue to help their high streets and other commercial areas provide Covid-safe trading environments for businesses and customers through to the end of March 2021, allowing them to forward plan the resources they need all the way through to Easter.

Now there’s the opportunity for more places to apply for some of this funding, or for towns to extend the measures they already have in place, says Cornwall’s senior councillor for the economy Tim Dwelly.

“It’s critical that we all work together in supporting our economy to recover safely and sustainably. The additional limited EU funding will allow councils to extend and reinstate some of the measures they had in place over the summer months.

“This will be especially important during what is hoped will be a busy shopping period in the run up to Christmas, and the three months of trading immediately prior to Easter next year.

“During this time, we will continue to support our towns to help them implement the measures they feel will work best and which fall within the RHSSF guidelines. As it is EU money, it does come with certain rules for spending and we will be managing the process closely to make sure councils can successfully recover as much of their agreed allocation as is possible.”

Meanwhile the Council and Cornwall Chamber of Commerce are highlighting how many of the small independent stores in our local neighbourhoods remain open.

These include greengrocers, chemists, butchers, bakers, off licences and takeaway food outlets or that offer click and collect or online services.

The future of our local economy is reliant on the support we give them during this difficult time, says Kim Conchie, Cornwall Chamber of Commerce CEO.

“Cornwall’s businesses are embedded in our communities and form a rich part of life here. Each of us has a role to play in helping them prosper by using them whenever we can. Many of the essential businesses we love are making purchases of great Cornish products much easier with Click & Collect, home delivery and extended opening hours. So let’s make sure we respond at this crucial time of year and Buy Local!”