MAKE IT MAIDSTONE MAKE IT PROSPEROUS


Maidstone Borough Council is working to fight the effects of the recession and bring prosperity to the borough.


High Street award


The redevelopment of Maidstone High Street has received a highly commended prize at the Kent Design and Development Awards 2014. The awards, which are held every 2 years, showcase the many excellent construction projects undertaken across the county.


The £3.1 million High Street redevelopment project, led by Maidstone Borough Council and Kent County Council, was completed in two phases in 2012 and 2013, creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment in the town centre.


Town Hall in lights


Maidstone Town Hall is the first iconic building in Maidstone town centre to be illuminated as part of a new, piloted lighting strategy.


Developed by the Town Team Regeneration group, the plan aims to highlight historic features in the town, visually enhancing public realm spaces after dark. As part of the pilot scheme, the outside of the Town Hall has been lit with multi-coloured LED lights which will be altered to reflect key national and international events throughout the year.


We would like to give a big thanks to Julie Anderson from RAP Office Contracts, Chris Way from CC-Studio Architects and Martin Cordrey for their hard work in bringing this project forward.


News from the autumn statement


z Small businesses will continue to receive support from central Government in paying business rates. The measure doubles the usual rate of relief, meaning that ratepayers with rateable values below £6,000 pay no rates at all for the period, while ratepayers with rateable values between £6,000 and £12,000 receive


tapered relief from 100% to 0%. Businesses with more than one property qualify if each property has a rateable value less than £2,600.


z Retail relief will give high-street shops, pubs and cafes with a rateable value of up to £50,000 a discount of £1,500 discount on business rates.


Help for small businesses


A Government scheme offering a £1,500 grant to small businesses employing an apprentice has been extended to December 2015. AGE 16-24 has already helped thousands of employers nationally to grow their business by employing an apprentice where they would otherwise not be able to do so.


The scheme targets employers with less than 250


employees, who are new to apprenticeships or haven’t enrolled a new recruit or existing employee onto an apprenticeship programme in the previous 12 months.


For more information contact the Economic Development team on economicdevelopment@maidstone.gov.uk; 01622 602344.


For more information visit our website and search business rates relief.


z From April 2015 employers of apprentices under the age of 21 will no longer have to pay National Insurance Contributions. This initiative will be extended for all but the highest earning apprentices aged under 25 from April 2016.


Kent healthy business awards


The Kent Healthy Business Award is a fully funded self-assessment framework for health and wellbeing at work. Linked to the National Wellbeing charter, the scheme offers companies and staff a whole host of tools and benefits to improve economic performance, through nurturing its people and environment. There’s no obligation to complete the project within a certain time, meaning it can fit around your day to day business. On successful completion of the scheme, your company will receive accreditation to the National Wellbeing Charter.


There are three levels of award (Commitment, Achievement and Excellence), each containing 9 sections to work towards so your programme will be tailor made to suit your company’s needs. Simply decided the level of engagement you can effectively manage, and then choose the sorts of activities that your business can achieve.


For more information, to arrange a meeting or to sign up, please email Paul.Kirrage@Midkent.gov.uk; call 01622 602032 or visit www.kent.gov.uk and search for ‘Kent Healthy Business Award’.


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