More than £5 million has been given to Chichester District Council to support local businesses that have been impacted by the Omicron variant.
Eligible businesses in the district can now apply for three new government schemes at: www.chichester.gov.uk/businessratesannouncements.
Hospitality and leisure businesses can apply for the Government’s Hospitality and Leisure Grant. The grant paid is dependent on the premises’ rateable value and ranges from £2,667 to £6,000.
The second scheme is the government’s Additional Restrictions Grant, which has been launched to support businesses based on their local economic need. It is intended to support businesses impacted by Covid-19, which may not be eligible for the Hospitality and Leisure Grant.
The third scheme is the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund, which is a new business rates relief scheme.
“With the surge in coronavirus cases, people are exercising more caution as they go about their lives, which is impacting on our local businesses,” says Cllr Peter Wilding, Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Revenues and Benefits at the council.
“These new grants recognise the pressure that businesses are under and will offer extra support through these challenging times.
“We would urge eligible local businesses to visit our website and apply for the grants that are relevant to them. Throughout the pandemic, our teams have made it a priority to issue grants to businesses as soon as they possibly can and so they have again opened up the grant application process at record speed.”
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