£481k to help Bucks high streets get back on their feet
The government money will be used to support safe & successful reopening
Buckinghamshire is getting £481k to help re-open the High Street successfully.
The government money comes as Bucks Council has been looking at the county's recovery from lockdowns - including helping make space for outdoor hospitality.
It looks as if we'll see extensions of temporary pedestrian areas to create more outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants.
Aylesbury MP Rob Butler has welcomed Government funding of more than £480,000 to help Buckinghamshire Council reopen local high streets once restrictions lift.
Rob said:
“I have visited many local businesses during the coronavirus crisis and have heard first-hand how difficult it has been for firms on our high streets.
"That is why I’m delighted that Buckinghamshire will receive £481,588, as part of the Government’s new Welcome Back Fund.
"This support will help reopen the town centre fully and provide local people with fantastic options to reunite with friends and family once restrictions permit.”
A total of £56 million will be invested across England through the Welcome Back Fund to help councils boost tourism, improve green spaces, and create more outdoor seating areas, markets and food stalls.
Rob added:
“The Welcome Back Fund will help Bucks bounce back from coronavirus and I’m looking forward to seeing the exciting projects which our superb town centre teams have planned for the summer, all of which will help make Aylesbury a better place to live, work, visit and invest.”
Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP, said:
“As we move to the next stage on the roadmap out of lockdown, we are all looking forward to being reunited with friends and family outdoors and making a safe and happy return to our favourite shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants.
“Our Welcome Back Fund gives every city, town and high street support to prepare for a great summer. This funding will help councils and businesses to welcome shoppers, diners and tourists back safely.
“As soon as the roadmap allows, we need to get behind our local businesses and enjoy all that this country has to offer and that we’ve been missing so much.”
A year of lockdowns
Boris Johnson announces national lockdown
At 8pm on 23 March 2020, Boris Johnson gave a televised address to the nation instructing everyone to "stay at home". By this date, 1,000 people in the UK had already died from Covid-19. During his speech, he talked of the threat that Covid-19 posed to the NHS and warned hospitals risked being overwhelmed if action was not taken. He encouraged people to join together in a national effort to fight the virus, concluding with the by now well known strap line: "stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives".
Clap for Carers
Three days after the Prime Minister introduced the stay at home restrictions, people around the UK came out onto their doorsteps at 8pm to clap in recognition of the carers who were fighting the virus on the frontline. This Clap for Carers took place every Thursday at 8pm for 10 weeks.
Nightingale Hospitals
The first emergency Nightingale hospital opened at the ExCel conference centre in London on 3 April 2020. It was the first of seven to open across England, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all had their own versions of these hospitals. Many of these hospitals were never needed and have now been closed or repurposed as mass vaccination centres.
Prime Minister in intensive care
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 on 6 April 2020, where he spent three days being treated. He was discharged from hospital on 12 April 2020.
Captain Tom Moore
99-year old Captain Tom Moore completed 100 laps of his garden on 16 April 2020 ahead of his 100th birthday, eventually raising over £30 million for the NHS. He was knighted by the Queen in honour of his achievements and was named a pandemic hero by the public. He sadly died at the age of 100 in January 2021.
NHS Rainbows
NHS Rainbows thanking the staff who battled the virus on the front line popped up in windows across the country. The pictures aimed to bring hope and positivity when people were struggling.
Testing Covid-19 vaccines
At the end of April 2020 Oxford University launched a trial testing a potential Covid-19 on human participants.
Changing slogans
The Government changed the slogan for England on 10 May 2020 to read "stay alert, control the virus, save lives". However, devolved Governments Scotland, England and Wales opted to keep the previous slogan, "stay home, protect the NHS, save lives" in place.
The Dominic Cummings scandal
It was revealed that Dominic Cummings, one of Boris Johnson's chief advisors, had broken lockdown rules and travelled across the country from London to Durham while having Covid-19. During his stay, he made a now famous trip to Barnard castle by car to check his eyesight. The trip caused huge controversy among the public and media, which led to Dominic Cummings holding a press conference on 25 May 2020 to explain his actions.
First easing of restrictions
Restrictions in each devolved nation started to ease for the first time in early summer 2020. Despite each country moving at a different pace with slightly different rules, measures were slowly relaxed to allow people to meet outside and even to permit small groups to gather inside. Businesses also reopened in a Covid secure manner.
Local lockdowns
By midsummer, local lockdowns were being reintroduced across the UK. Leicester was the first city to go into a localised lockdown at the end of June. Similar measures were imposed in Aberdeen in August following a surge in cases.
Tiers system
Each nation in the UK took a different approach to managing the ongoing crisis. In October 2020, Boris Johnson introduced a three tier system in England, by which areas were assigned tiers as according to their rates of Covid-19. The tiers were divided into Medium, High and Very High and restrictions varied by level.
Scotland also introduced a tiers system in October, however it was composed of five tiers ranging from 0, living as close to normal as possible without a vaccine, to 4, close to another lockdown.
Instead of tiers, another national lockdown was imposed in Wales in October to curb the rapid increase in cases.
Meanwhile, an extended October break for schools was announced in Northern Ireland as well as the closure of businesses including bars, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers as cases continued to rise.
November lockdown
England entered a one-month long national lockdown in November 2020 in an attempt to slow an increase in Covid-19 cases. Meanwhile, Wales emerged from lockdown and Scotland continued to use the tiers system. At the end of November, Northern Ireland reintroduced tougher restrictions for a period of two weeks. Schools were allowed to remain open however the restrictions were otherwise similar to those seen in October.
The worse excuses for breaking lockdown
Lockdowns have led to many people breaking the rules for various reasons. Fines have been handed out for travelling hundreds of miles for a chippy and to party hosts who claimed they didn't know about the pandemic because they don't watch the news. You can read about the most bizarre excuses for breaking lockdown here.
First vaccine
In December, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive a Covid-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial, marking a momentous moment in the world's fight the defeat the pandemic.
Christmas plans change
Less than six days before Christmas, the Prime Minister held a press conference informing the public in England that initial plans to ease restrictions over Christmas would be scaled back, following the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of Covid-19, known as the Kent variant. This variant quickly became the prevalent strain of Covid-19 in the UK.
Wales imposed a national lockdown from 20 December, but allowed people to meet on Christmas day.
Scotland similarly allowed small-scale mixing on 25 December, however also scaled back original plans to ease restrictions on each side of Christmas.
Northern Ireland reduced the planned five days of Christmas bubbling to one day only and introduced a national lockdown from boxing day.
January lockdowns
Following a surge in cases around the UK over the festive period, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon introduced a second lockdown in the country on 4 January 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson quickly followed suit, imposing lockdown measures in England later that evening. Both countries moved slightly later that Wales and Northern Ireland, who had introduced lockdown restrictions on 20 December 2020 and 26 December 2020 respectively.
100,000 deaths
The UK's Covid-19 death toll officially reached 100,000 on 26 January 2021. This statistic was based on those with Covid-19 on their death certificate and does not include deaths caused by issues related to the impact of the pandemic.
Captain Sir Tom Moore dies with Covid-19
Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised millions for the NHS during the pandemic, died with Covid-19 in February at the age of 100. To recognise the national treasure, Prime Minister Boris Johnson led a nation wide clap in the veteran's honour.
Roadmaps out of lockdown
Each devolved nation will follow their own plan for easing restrictions. On 22 February 2021, Boris Johnson held a press conference setting out the key dates for the easing of restrictions in England. Administrations in Scotland, Ireland and Wales have similarly published plans by which they hope to ease restrictions. The first steps towards easing restrictions has taken place in each of the four countries , with children back in schools to varying degrees and some meetings outdoors permitted.