Wiltshire Council has released more information about the forthcoming Restart Grants for businesses, with applications due to open in early April.
Restart Grants support high street businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with grants worth up to £6,000 for non-essential retail businesses, and up to £18,000 for hospitality businesses such as personal care, pubs, leisure and hotels. As with previous grants, the amount a business can be awarded will depend on its rateable value.
The new scheme is similar to the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG), which 3,145 Wiltshire businesses have received. However, there are some differences in the eligibility criteria, and businesses that have been successfully awarded a LRSG in the past will have to provide some further information for a Restart Grant, as some of the evidence that the council needs to collect has changed.
Any business that has not received a LRSG can still apply for a Restart Grant if they think they are eligible, but they will have to go through the full application process for the new grant.
Sam Fox, Corporate Director for Place and Environment, said: “So far, we have paid more than 27,000 grants totalling more than £138m, and the new Restart Grants will enable us to do even more to support Wiltshire businesses.
“Rate paying businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care or gym sectors may be eligible for a Restart Grant, so I would urge them to apply once the grant window opens in early April.
“We’re also emailing all businesses that received a LRSG for the period of 16 February 2021-20 March 2021 to advise them of this new grant and what they will have to do to apply.
“Other businesses should check our website and sign up for our business newsletter for more details and the latest information on how to apply once applications open. We’ll be publishing more information as soon as we have it, so please don’t contact us about the Restart Grants just yet.
“As lockdown is eased according to the Government’s roadmap, we want to do all we can to help Wiltshire businesses get on their feet and enjoy a prosperous future, and our officers are working hard to do that.”
For more information and to sign up for the business newsletter, businesses should go to www.wiltshire. gov.uk/ business-advice-support-covid19-grants; or to find out more about eligibility, they can visit: www.gov.uk/ guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-a-coronavirus-restart-grant.
