City Council launches economic recovery programme
Nottingham City Council is launching a new Nottingham Economic Recovery Unit (NERU) in response to the challenges the city and its businesses expect to face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new unit will adapt existing support through the D2N2 Growth Hub, Nottingham Jobs, City Centre Management Team and link to teams within the council, such as licensing, property, regeneration and transport strategy, to provide free support to businesses in the city during and post-pandemic.
The Council says NERU will focus on dedicated, one-to-one support to businesses and job seekers to mitigate the impact on Nottingham from the predicted forthcoming economic shocks of the pandemic.
Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Growth and the City Centre, said: “While we have been working on the immediate support available to businesses and employees, such as the small grants for businesses scheme, ensuring easy access to support for self-employed people and helping those on furlough or looking for work during the pandemic, we knew we would need practical medium and longer-term steps to support Nottingham as lockdown winds down and businesses prepare to reopen.
“The support we can offer through the D2N2 Growth Hub, Nottingham Jobs and our city centre managers is reliable, well-trusted and designed to help whoever needs it. Uniting these teams under the banner of an Economic Recovery Unit, we can provide a single point of access to the most critical services for businesses so they can get the support they need quickly and without worrying they’ll have hoops to jump through.
“More than ever, it’s essential that our business community gets the right support in good time and first time as we follow the government advice on phasing out of lockdown. NERU will help us understand what support need now and what they’re likely to need in the future so we can shape our work around their needs.”
