A further £7.9 million in grant support is being made available to businesses in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the form of Additional Restrictions Support Grants.
Launching today (Thursday 26 November) the latest grant scheme will offer a lifeline to local businesses who are continuing to struggle due to the impact of covid-19, including those who have remained open or not yet received any support so far.
Funding will be distributed in 3 Streams. Each will be distinct and together form a comprehensive package of support to a variety of businesses and the local business community in general.
Stream 1 is open to applications from local businesses:
- who are not registered for business rates and have been mandated to close
- which have remained open but are severely impacted by the closure of other businesses
Businesses may apply for this funding via an online form on the council’s website. Grants will be paid to businesses for each 28 day period of national or tier 3 local restrictions.
The grant amounts for Stream 1 will be in line with the Local Restrictions Support Grants schemes, with amounts varying from £934 to £3,000 depending on the level of fixed business costs or rateable value and whether the business was mandated to close or remained open but was significantly impacted by closures .
Stream 2 is currently being developed and will be used to provide grants directly to businesses in sectors identified to be most in need. Having engaged with the local business community, this will include vital and wide-reaching areas of the local economy such as the aviation, events industry, nightclubs, cultural venues, market traders and home-based businesses.
A third Stream will be used to fund future business support initiatives and at present there is no requirement for businesses to apply for this support.
Councillor Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Economy, said:
“We’ve been carefully considering what we can do to help businesses that may not have been eligible for other grant schemes and those that remain fundamental to the success of our local economy. In addition to benefitting non-rate payers and smaller businesses, our approach will provide lifeline support to nightclubs, entertainment venues, events and hospitality businesses who have also been impacted.’’
“I have great confidence in the continued success of our dynamic, hardworking and resilient business community. Together, we can get through this. In the meantime, we have your back, and we’ll do everything we can to support you during the challenging times ahead.’’
For more information and to apply, please visit: bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ARGbusiness