Garden Waste

The garden waste service was suspended on March 23 and it is now clear that it will not be operating for some time.

This is because Serco is experiencing staff shortages due to the coronavirus pandemic and they are having to divert staff to ensure the recycling and refuse service is maintained.

Any automatic renewal payments which were due to be taken on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 will not be taken.

Please do not call us if you usually pay over the phone.

Future payments will not be taken until the service is ready to resume.

When the garden waste service begins to operate again, CBC will contact those customers whose subscriptions were due to be renewed and encourage them to sign up again.

Refunds

CBC are offering extended permits instead of refunds. Anyone who is a current subscriber will have their permits extended by the amount of time the service is not running for ie one month or two months etc.

CBC apologise for any inconvenience and will aim to restore the service as soon as possible.

Council Tax

Nearly £1 million has been allocated to Charnwood Borough Council to help people on low incomes with council tax bills during the coronavirus pandemic.

All councils have been given funding by government to further reduce council tax bills for people of working age on low incomes. The funding will help cut some people's bills by up to £150 if they are already receiving Council Tax Support.

The funding also means the Council may be able to offer further support for people using a discretionary fund.

This latest reduction will be applied automatically to people who already receive Council Tax Support, around 4,500 people. If you have already received a bill, then another will be sent.

If you are concerned about paying your bills, there are options around paying your council tax. Some people may also be eligible for support.

Please contact us as soon as possible. CBC will be as flexible as they can and are aware that many people have concerns at the moment due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Further information please click

Business Support Grants

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors along with those classed as 'A2' uses (such as estate agents and bingo halls) will be eligible for a grant of £10,000 where their Rateable Value is up to £15,000.

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors along with those classed as 'A2' uses (such as estate agents and bingo halls) will be eligible for a grant of £25,000 where their Rateable Value is between £15,001 and £51,000.

For businesses in all sectors, if you already receive Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief you will be eligible for a one-off grant of £10,000.

Businesses eligible for a grant payment of either £10,000 or £25,000 are asked to complete the online registration form below as soon as possible.

https://vof.charnwood.gov.uk/form/auto/rb_business_rates_relief

The Council has launched Charnwood Community Action in partnership with John Storer Charnwood, The Bridge and other voluntary organisations including Loughborough Against Corona and Parish and Town Councils to help support residents in Charnwood during these difficult times.

The Charnwood Community Action Hub will respond to the various needs of the community including helping those who are self-isolating access shopping and prescription delivery. It will also help those who have been identified in need of specialist help, access food parcels and befriending support.

(Please note that if a resident has received a letter from the NHS which identifies them as someone at risk and if they do not have family or a support network to help them get food and medicine they should go to www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable or call 0800 0288327)

Charnwood Community Action have been very grateful of the response so far from a number of Parish and Town Councils and groups within your villages and wondered if you could support us by helping to sign post residents who need support and the groups/agencies which can offer help, to register on the John Storer Charnwood website

In particular we would like to know if there is any group willing to help us distribute to those identified as needing food parcels. We would deliver to a central point (recommendation welcome) and volunteers could deliver from there. We would ask that those who volunteer to deliver follow the protocol which we can share with you.

Whilst we really appreciate all those that wish to help and support in their communities, we need to ensure the following criteria must be met for all volunteers;

• you and everybody in your household is well and have no symptoms like a cough or high temperature
• you are under 70
• you are not pregnant
• you do not have any long-term health conditions that make you vulnerable to coronavirus

Your help with identifying groups and volunteers in your villages is greatly appreciated and we will keep you updated with any developments.

As things seem to change on a daily basis please bear with us.