Businesses in Calderdale which have received Local Restrictions Support Grants are being contacted to allow recurring payments to be made.
Businesses which have been legally required to close to protect people from COVID-19, or those which have been severely impacted due to previous local Tier 2 or Tier 3 restrictions, have been able to apply for Local Restrictions Grants (open and closed). These grants pay up to a maximum of £3536 in total, dependent on property rateable value, with payments backdated to cover eligible periods.
Calderdale Council is now in the process of contacting each business which has received the initial payments, to confirm the eligibility for recurring payments. Businesses will receive an email asking them to confirm their trading status throughout the different restriction and lockdown periods. Payments will then be made automatically, with no extra evidence or application process necessary.
The Council has already paid out over £2.8 million to over 1500 Calderdale businesses which have applied for the Local Restriction Grants and the Additional Restriction Grants. This is in addition to the £62 million previously paid out to 5,500 businesses across Calderdale during the pandemic.
Details have now also been received for the process of paying the one-off top up grants announced by Government at the start of the latest lockdown period. These grants are worth up to £9,000 per property for businesses which have had to close due to restrictions and will be awarded to eligible closed businesses as follows:
• £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
These grants will be paid using the details supplied for the existing Local Restrictions Support Grants and the Additional Restrictions Grant. This process will begin from Monday 25 January 2021. Businesses which are yet to apply for existing grants are therefore encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
Business can check if they’re eligible at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-your-business-is-eligible-for-a-coronavirus-grant-due-to-national-restrictions-for-closed-businesses To process applications before the Government deadline, all businesses should apply for the existing grants by the end of January 2021.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, Cllr Jane Scullion, said:
“It’s important that all businesses which are eligible for COVID related support grants, submit their applications as soon as possible if they haven’t done so already. This will allow our teams to process payments before the Government deadline and also ensure we have their details for any other potential payments.
“For those which have already applied, we’re now in the process of contacting each applicant to process recurring payments. To ensure businesses receive the grants to which they’re entitled we need businesses to self-declare their trading status throughout recent restriction and lockdown periods so that correct payments can be made.
“We know the importance of these grants and we’re working to process both the recurring payments and additional top-up grant support as soon as possible.”
For more information and to apply for grant support, visit https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/coronavirus/businesses