South Cambridgeshire District Council, which is administering the business grants, has opened applications for local businesses suffering from the most recent lockdown restrictions - Tier 4 restrictions from 26 December to 4 January, and the current ongoing National Lockdown.
There are several different Government grants available for these periods.
For the Tier 4 period in South Cambridgeshire, which ran for ten days immediately after Christmas, affected businesses (including non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses) can now apply online for the LRSG (Closed) Tier 4 grant scheme. The eligibility criteria and payments are structured in a similar way to previous grants given during earlier restrictions.
For the current National Lockdown, which started on January 5, three new schemes are now available. Businesses which applied for the Tier 4 grant do not need to re-apply but will be contacted automatically by the Council. Those which haven’t applied for earlier grants should fill in an online application form.
The new Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum: 5 January onwards covers the current 42-day period for business closures up until 31 March 2021, with one-off payments ranging from £2,001 to £4,500 depending on the rateable value of a business which must have been registered for business rates on 5 January 2021 and required by law to close.
Those receiving this grant will also be entitled to an additional one-off Closed Business Lockdown payment for the same 42-day qualifying restriction period which will range from £4,000 to £9,000 and will be paid automatically.
The Council is also receiving additional funding to allocate at its discretion under the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme and will make initial use of these funds to provide top-ups to those most in-need businesses in the District which are eligible for the Closed Business Lockdown Payment.
The application closure date for the new grant schemes is 31 March 2021 with final payments being made by 30 April 2021.
In the meantime, businesses can also still apply for various earlier grants via the Council website covering the following: Local Restrictions from November 5 to December 2; Christmas support payments for wet-led pubs (final applications must be received by January 31, 2021); and Tier 2 Restrictions imposed in South Cambridgeshire from December 2 to 25.
Cllr Peter McDonald, Lead Cabinet Member for Business Recovery and Skills, said: “The latest funding round of Government grants will help our local business community through the current severe restrictions into what we very much hope will be a Spring recovery. We were able to allocate Government grants worth over £24,177,500 to 2,183 local businesses during the first lockdown last year, and since the December restrictions kicked in have so far paid out over £1,300,000 to over 800 businesses. We recognise the challenges they are facing and our staff are working incredibly hard to get this vital lifeline out to as many eligible applicants as quickly as possible. Our priority is to keep our local economy afloat and in a viable position for when restrictions start to ease and businesses can safely welcome their customers back.”