Further business sectors in Calderdale are now invited to apply for funding of up to £10,000 from the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund.
The grant scheme is available for small and micro businesses facing major impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which aren’t eligible for the Government’s Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Fund.
Since its initial launch on the 5 June, nearly 300 Calderdale businesses have applied for this funding. Calderdale Council is now in a position to widen the eligibility criteria to include additional business sectors.
Applications are now invited from childcare providers who are not eligible for other grants; suppliers of products for the hospitality, retail and leisure sector; and manufacturing or engineering businesses which have a rateable property between £15,000 and £51,000.
Eligible businesses in these sectors are able to apply for £5,000 for companies with up to 10 staff and £10,000 for those with 11-50 staff.
The deadline has also been extended for businesses in existing eligible sectors. This includes:
- Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces, such as units in industrial parks and science parks 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.
The online application form can be accessed at www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-business-support
The grant will close on Friday 24 July at 5pm.
Calder Valley MP, Craig Whittaker said:
“I am pleased that Calderdale Council have now widened the criteria for the Discretionary Grant Fund to include businesses from more sectors and of different sizes. Alongside the various unprecedented packages of support already available to businesses in Calder Valley, this grant is designed to catch those businesses who were previously not eligible for the business grants in the early days of the pandemic, and give them the extra support they need to get through these difficult times.
Please note that all businesses must meet the following criteria:
- All applicants must meet the definition of either a small business or a micro business, and employ less than 50 staff.
- Applicants must not be eligible for or benefiting from any other of the Government’s COVID-19 grant support schemes.
- Applicants must have high fixed property-related costs and be able to demonstrate a major drop in income as a result of the pandemic.