The Government has launched a £5 billion Restart Grants Scheme providing funding to eligible businesses through councils.
The Restart Grants scheme is now live for Eden businesses and can be accessed by visiting www.eden.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/business-support-grants/.
Businesses in the non-essential retail sector in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000, while businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors, which are reopening later, will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £18,000. You can find out more about which businesses are eligible at www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-a-coronavirus-restart-grant
The Restart Grant is being administered on behalf of the government by Eden District Council and eligible businesses in Eden affected by the ongoing coronavirus restrictions are being encouraged to apply for the latest financial assistance grant available to them
The scheme is broken down into two strands and supports businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors.
The grant amounts will be a one-off payment for each eligible property, based on their rateable value:
- A one-off grant of up to £6,000 in the non-essential retail sector
- A one-off grant of up to £18,000 in the hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors
Businesses are encouraged to visit the council’s website www.eden.gov.uk to find out more and for information on how and when to apply.
Due to the government increasing the information required in support of applications there is need to collect further details from each business and a number of checks are required to be carried out before payments can be made.
Therefore, eligible businesses will have to apply for the grant even if they have already received funding from one of the other business grants over the past 12 months.
When applying, businesses should:
- Have a copy of their business rates bill to hand and upload a recent bank statement when making their application.
- Provide the date that their business was established.
- Provide the cumulative total of all business support grants their business has received.
Please note that if businesses provide incomplete or inaccurate information, this may cause unnecessary delays in grants being paid.
The council is committed to paying grants to businesses as quickly as possible. However, as there are some additional pre-payment checks required for these applications, businesses are asked to allow a minimum of three weeks before contacting the authority after submitting an application.
The Council has also suspended the discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant, whilst it awaits further announcements from the Government on the scheme. Further details can be found at www.eden.gov.uk
