Coronavirus business update: Latest news across the North West

Cheshire East Council has been offered up to £339,533 from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the safe reopening of its high streets.

As shops, restaurants, cafes and bars begin to reopen the council is working to prepare the borough’s high streets for more visitors returning.

Temporary highways measures, including road closures and COVID-19 social distancing signage has been in place across 16 high streets since June 15.
Many have been adapted following more recent changes to national guidelines on social distancing.

These measures will also now sit alongside friendly ‘Welcome Back – We’ve missed you’ campaign material consisting of rainbow banners, signage and bunting which will be displayed in 11 high streets over the coming week.

Cllr Laura Crane cabinet member for highways and waste, said: “We would like to again reiterate our thanks to the town and parish councils who have informed the temporary measures that have been put in place to make our high streets safe.

“Following the weekend – which saw the government’s social distancing restrictions ease – we must remember that some members of our community are not as confident as others.

“Some people may be coming to the shops for the first time in over 100 days. These temporary measures in place are there to help build both their confidence and that of our businesses.”

The council has also has published a document that outlines the plans it has made should there be a local outbreak of COVID-19.

This plan, part of the Government’s national COVID-19 test, trace, contain and enable recovery strategy, will ensure that an effective and coordinated approach is in place for the prevention, rapid detection and management of any coronavirus outbreaks within Cheshire East.

The plan explains how the council will:

● Work to prevent COVID-19 transmission in community settings;

● Identify and notify a local outbreak;

● Manage a local outbreak;

● Declare the end of a local outbreak; and

● Support vulnerable residents who have tested positive and are self-isolating

Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “Each and every resident has a part to play in helping prevent a local outbreak by supporting our plans and following the test and trace protocol, to protect themselves, their family and friends. It’s through supporting each other and your local council that we will continue to win this fight against the coronavirus, to make sure we don’t have to put this outbreak plan into place.”

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Rochdale-based manufacturer Tetrosyl has produced a new range of cleaning and sanitising products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm is Europe’s largest maker of car care products but moved into antibacterial cleaners as lockdown eases.

It took less than two months to produce the new range and was only possible after the 2019 acquisition of James Briggs, which is one of the region’s oldest and largest consumer chemicals businesses, for an undisclosed sum.

The new range – sold under the Nilco brand – belonged originally to James Briggs but has been developed by Tetrosyl and includes antibacterial multi-surface cleaners, fabric cleaners and car sanitisers. It also includes a powerful hand sanitiser, something which is still in short supply in some areas of the UK.

Tetrosyl moved into its new headquarters in Rochdale in 2016. The company’s main distribution centre is in Castleton, employing around 250 staff across both sites. Its main manufacturing facility is in Bury.

David Rogers, group general counsel for Tetrosyl, said: “It’s important to be agile and we recognised there was a global shortage of sanitisers. Normally it would take a year or so to produce a new range, so to be able do that in around two months is remarkable.

“The acquisition of James Briggs significantly increased our manufacturing capacity and when COVID-19 hit, we realised we could use that capacity to produce a range of cleaning and sanitising products that were effective against the virus.

“It’s testament to the skill of our team that this innovative and exciting new range has been created, tested and produced in just a matter of months. The orders are already coming through and the potential is huge because we have the ability to produce in bulk quickly.”

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Helen Wilson

Pupils from a Ramsbottom-based tutoring group have taken on a tough lockdown challenge to raise more than £2,000 for the NHS.

While school has been out for most children over the past three months – in the traditional sense, at least – students from A Star Tuition Group have been working hard to keep up with their studies.

Owner Helen Wilson decided to give the children an extra initiative for their learning and channel their efforts towards something positive, resulting in her setting up a Sponsored Spell.

Pupils were given a list of 200 difficult-to-spell words to learn as part of their homework.

The sponsored spelling event was then run during A Star’s online sessions where children were tested on 50 words, with a focus on those with a particularly tough spelling including embarrass, privilege and communication.

Helen said: “We’d been talking about the pandemic in our sessions, and several of the pupils have family members who are key workers. The children understood what a wonderful job these unsung heroes are doing and were extremely keen to help raise funds.

“Most children nationwide have struggled to stay motivated since finishing school and I found that for many of our pupils, it was the boost they needed. They took the challenge very seriously and I’m absolutely delighted that we smashed our target of £2,000, raising a fantastic £2,183 for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Charitable Trust.”

Last year the business was crowned ‘Tuition Group of The Year’ for Greater Manchester in The Corporate Livewire Manchester Prestige Awards.