A business grant fund has been relaunched by East Staffordshire Borough Council to support of small businesses in East Staffordshire during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Discretionary Grant Fund, totalling £1.19m, was made available by the Government to support small businesses. In the first application phase, the Council awarded grants to 26 local businesses totalling £130,000.
Grants of £10,000 will be awarded by East Staffordshire Borough Council from this fund and applications will be processed on a first come first served basis. The scheme will close for applications at midnight on Wednesday 8th July 2020.
The grant is prioritised for following types of business that are based and trading within East Staffordshire:
- Small or Micro businesses in offices (including shared offices) or other flexible workspaces with high fixed property-related costs who can demonstrate that they have suffered from a significant fall in income due to COVID-19.
- Small/micro businesses without a business rates assessment that occupy a whole space.
- Small/micro businesses with a business rates assessment with a rateable value between £15k and £51k.
- Regular market and street traders that trade and have fixed building costs in relation to their business within East Staffordshire, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment.
- Bed & Breakfasts that pay council tax instead of business rates.
- Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief. Charities must trade in East Staffordshire and must not be part of, associated with or affiliated to any other Charities, including national Charities.
Only businesses that were trading on 11th March are eligible to apply for this grant. This grant funding is for businesses that are not eligible for other support schemes, however businesses that are eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme are entitled to apply for this grant.
Councillor Duncan Goodfellow, Leader of the Council, said: “The Council is committed to supporting local businesses through impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This grant fund is opportunity for those businesses who might not be eligible for other schemes.”
For more information on the eligibility criteria and how to apply please go to https://www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/business-rates/local-authority-discretionary-grant-fund.