This week’s Items of Interest:
1. Since the beginning of this month, and up to April 2021, certain retail premises in Bristol can have a business rates discount. The discount will be provided to eligible occupied retail properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 in 2019/20 and 2020/21, subject to State Aid De Minimis limits; further details here.
2. St Mark’s Road in Easton has been shortlisted in the Great Street category of the 2020 Urbanism Awards; read more here.
3. The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation; international trade; sustainable development; and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Free-to-enter, companies can apply to do so for 2020 from Wednesday 1 May; more here.
4. Spike Island Open Studios, over the bank holiday weekend beginning Friday 3 May allows visitors to explore the working environments of hundreds of artists, designers and creative businesses. The event at 133 Cumberland Road BS1 6UX includes family friendly activities, tours and pop-ups by some of Bristol’s best street food traders; more here.
5. St Nick’s Night Market returns on Friday 10 May (5pm – 10pm); more here.
6. The next BOOST networking event for small business owners in Bristol takes place on Tuesday 14 May (6pm – 8pm) at the UniLit Club, Berkeley Square BS8 1HP, with a theme of Building Values Based Business. All tickets proceeds go to the charity Young Bristol; book here.
7. The Planet Mark Start are hosting a special free-to-attend event next month for small businesses in the West of England keen to have a positive social, environmental and economic impact. With a keynote speech from Minister for Energy & Climate Change Claire Perry, the event on Thursday 16 May (5pm – 8pm) at KPMG, 66 Queen Square BS1 4BE will be an opportunity to explore your sustainability credentials and hear from other businesses improving their carbon footprint; further details here.
8. Bristol Community Learning’s next short course on how to be a street food trader is on Saturday 18 May and Saturday 1 June (10.30am – 3.30pm) at St Werburghs Community Centre, Horley Road BS2 9TJ. Find out more here.
9. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is holding a series of regional workshops – one of which is in Bristol on Monday 20 May – to seek input to the current UKRI Review of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The workshops are designed to seek input from a broad set of stakeholders in the AI landscape, including those from academia, business, and policy; find out more here. Expressions of interest to attend to be returned by Friday 3 May.
10. Information about upcoming procurement opportunities with Bristol City Council and how to register on the Council’s e-procurement portal can be found here.
11. Click here for an overview of the Innovate UK Smart Grants that organisations can get to carry out ambitious, disruptive R&D projects with a high potential for commercial success.
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