Council focus on ‘getting money out the door’ to support local businesses

Hundreds of local businesses in the Forest of Dean that are affected by the national lockdown have applied for financial help from a government grant scheme run by the council.  Forest of Dean District Council is responsible for the delivery of the grant, assessing applications from eligible businesses.

Since opening for applications on Monday morning, Forest of Dean District Council has received 356 applications from local businesses, with 117 already processed with payment imminent. A further 142 businesses are being processed.

This means that, so far, £180,744 has been allocated for payment to local firms. 

Cllr Bernie O’Neill, Cabinet Member for the Economy said: “Since the application process start of the week our teams have been working flat out to process applications form local business, working as fast as we can to get the money out the door and support our local firms.

“I’m delighted at the progress we’re making, but I’m also conscious that there are still businesses out there that are eligible and my advice is “don’t delay” and check out our website to see if your business is eligible and if it is, then simply complete the online application.”

Contact Information

Forest of Dean Communications Team

[email protected]

Notes to editors

Notes:

Full details of which businesses are covered by the scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#businesses-and-venues