From the Leader – Friday, October 4th

Our district is home to a diverse range of businesses, all with differing needs, and we are committed to doing everything we can to support them to thrive and grow.

We know that many of our businesses want to do more to minimise their impact on the environment and become more sustainable, but it can often be difficult to know where to start.

We are delighted to be offering a free workshop to micro, small and medium tourism and hospitality businesses in Rother that will help them future proof, cut their energy costs and minimise waste.

The event, which takes place on Tuesday, October 15, at Rye Nature Reserve, will help businesses better understand how they can keep up with consumer trends, attract more customers and cut their running costs.

Running from 9.30am to 4pm, the event is being delivered by Rother District Council and the University of Brighton’s Clean Growth UK team, with funding from the Government’s University of Brighton’s Clean Growth UK team.

Spaces can be booked via www.clean-growth.uk/events/net-zero-360-tourism-rother-15th-october/

With many of our residents needing a bit of extra help to live independently, we are also delighted to be supporting a free drop-in event to give valuable guidance to the many personal assistants and small care and support businesses doing a wonderful job across the district.

The event, being held at Beeching Park Day Centre in Bexhill on Wednesday, October 16, will give businesses and individuals the opportunity to network and get advice and guidance from teams from councils and other partners.

Running from 10am to 2pm, the event is being organised by East Sussex County Council and places can be booked via www.rother.gov.uk/news/get-1-1-advice-on-growing-your-business-at-free-bexhill-micro-provider-event

Work is well underway on planning for Rother District Council’s 2025/26 budget.  Like all other authorities, Rother has been significantly affected over the past decade by rising costs and demand and reductions in Government funding.

We know that we face a funding gap of £3 million next year which means we will need to change the way deliver services. Waiting until next April to address this is not an option and officers and councillors have been working tirelessly to identify changes that will help ease the financial pressure.

One of these changes affects how people pay for parking in 17 of our car parks.  Due to a significant drop in motorists using cash to pay for parking, and the increasing costs of dealing with this form of payment, we have now stopped cash payments at our parking machines.

The change will not affect the vast majority of people who use credit or debit cards or the RingGo app, but it will mean those paying with cash will have a short walk to the nearest PayPoint.  Every PayPoint is between 140 and 290 metres away, with the exception of Camber’s Western car park where motorists will have to walk 550 metres to pay with cash.

As well as saving the council £30,000 a year, this move will also reduce carbon emissions by around 6 tonnes a year.

Details of PayPoints, which consist of local businesses, will be displayed at car parks.

Ends

Published: 4th October 2024

Aiimee Digital Assistant Icon

Aiimee - Rother Digital Assistant

Ask me a question!