East Staffordshire Borough Council has extended the deadline for small businesses to apply for grants from its Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund. The scheme will now close for applications at midnight on Sunday 12th July 2020.
The Discretionary Grant Fund has enabled the Council to continue to support small businesses in East Staffordshire during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Government made additional funding, totalling £1.19m, available to allow the Council to further support Small Businesses. The Discretionary Grant Fund has been offered in addition to the Small Business Grants Funds and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund which are already available to businesses. Grants totalling £420,000 have already been awarded by East Staffordshire Borough Council to 42 businesses.
The grant is prioritised for following types of business that are based and trading within East Staffordshire:
- Small or Micro businesses without a business rates assessment in 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 or micro businesses that pay business rates and the rateable value for their property is between £15,000 and £51,000.
- 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.
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.