Council to launch Discretionary Business Grants on 1 June
Forest of Dean District Council will launch the localised version of the Government's latest small business grant scheme on June 1.
Applications will be open for two weeks and the council intends to make the first payments under the scheme on June 22.
The scheme is intended for small and micro businesses that were not eligible for other support schemes with the exception of the Self Employed and Furlough Schemes.
Cllr Richard Leppington, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “I am aware that a number of businesses have slipped through the net of previous grants that we administer. I am pleased that we can now support concerns in the hospitality sector who will be crucial to regenerating the Forest economy in the future.”
Cllr Bernie O’Neill, Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “Whilst this funding is welcome, we shall need to look very carefully at the applications as the sum available to us in the Forest of Dean is limited. This second round of Discretionary Grants is aimed at small and micro industries which were, generally, not eligible for the first round. There are 2 levels of grants available £25,000, and up to £10,000. It is very unlikely that we shall allocate many, if any, of the £25,000 grants in order to make more of the £10,000 grants available.”
The government guidance asks Councils to prioritise the following types of business:
- Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces, which do not have their own Business Rates assessment,
- Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own Business Rates assessment,
- Bed & Breakfasts which 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.
Cllr O’Neill added that as well as the Government guidelines on which businesses are eligible, he has added suppliers to the local retail leisure and hospitality chain. These businesses were not eligible within the `original scheme’ but form a vital part of the supply chain to the recipients of the original scheme.
The government paper outlining eligibility for grants is available here. Businesses that have applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough) are eligible to apply for this scheme,
Applications to the scheme will be open from 9am on 1 June close at 23.59 on 14 June. Applications should be made through the council’s website.