This has been a long and challenging week for us all and we hope that you are looking after each other and keeping well.
Many thanks for your commitment to supporting our local communities across Warwick district, providing the help and services needed during this difficult time. Last night’s “Clap for our Carers” highlighted the true community spirit emerging across the district. It was heart-warming to see the thanks and the recognition given to those of you who are selflessly continuing to work in such adversity.
At Warwick District Council, our response to coronavirus is the top priority and this has affected every area of our work. We've had to change the way we provide many services, and we're very grateful for your offers of support as we do this.
Keeping as many Council services open as possible is our goal and our website pages will keep you up to date with the changes that have taken place so far to follow the Government guidance, to keep everyone safe and healthy as well as to support the NHS and it’s staff, so that they can in turn support us all.
We want to reassure you that we're listening and doing our best to address your concerns in line with Government guidance; there is now no charge to park in WDC car parks for key workers; and, whilst we have closed the playgrounds and tennis courts to deter groups, our parks and gardens remain open for people to take their daily exercise. Essential services such as bin collections, remain intact.
We're also concentrating our efforts on the most vulnerable people in our community and those that care for them. Plans are being implemented to accommodate the homeless to help keep them safe and well.
Getting the grants out to local businesses has been a priority and from today there is an online form here for eligible businesses to complete. This will enable us to distribute the grants quickly, but we need your help in letting businesses know, as we won’t have contact details for all local businesses.
Unfortunately, there will be some inevitable disruption to our services, but we're working to keep that to a minimum and we'll keep you updated on our website as the situation evolves. And like many businesses, we've had to make rapid changes to the way we work as a Council, limiting access to most of our buildings, co-ordinating our staff, now very largely working from home, or holding meetings on-line.
We've been working with partners to develop and operate a local Shielding Hub from Monday for our most vulnerable. More information is now on our website about what we are aiming to provide and the support we'll need to make that work. We hope as many of you as possible will be able to help in some way when the need arises.
We are all proud of our district and of the strong community links we have built up across all of our towns and villages. We hope this will stand us in good stead to work our way through this emergency.
Finally, we know that things are difficult right now and may get worse before they get better, but we need to think of the future, of the time after this emergency ends. So we've begun working on a recovery strategy for the better times ahead - plans to improve our environment, repair our local economy and strengthen our community. We hope that you'll all continue to work with us to not only deal with the current emergency, but also to begin key preparations for a better future, together.
