Businesses can now apply for the government’s Restart Grant using our secure online form.
The new grant aims to support businesses in reopening safely as COVID-19 restrictions.
Grants will be available for the period 1 April until 30 June 2021.
Please note, not filling in the form fully or accurately is likely to delay your application as we will be required to carry out more checks before payment is made.
Who can apply?
We have sent e-mails to all the businesses who have previously received grants to invite them to claim for this period. We would urge businesses to check their email accounts and follow the instructions.
If a business believes they should be entitled for support but have not previously applied they should complete the full application process for support for the period 16 February to 31 March. Then, they can go onto complete the supplementary Restart Grant application.
Unfortunately, those businesses that have previously applied for grants but have been told they are not eligible are unlikely to qualify for a Restart Grant unless their circumstances have changed.
Which types of business are eligible?
• shops (non-essential retail)
• personal care businesses such as hairdressers and beauty salons,
• restaurants and pubs, accommodation,
• leisure
Your business must pay business rates and have been trading on 1 April 2021.
How much is the grant?
Non-essential retail could receive one-off grants of up to £6,000 and hospitality, leisure up to £18,000, depending on the rateable value of their properties. Further details can be found on our business webpages.
How to apply
Please read the email sent to your business and read the applicants guide before applying. This gives details of what information you will need in order to complete the application.
Then you can submit your application through our secure online form which is on our businesses and employers web page.
Businesses that have applied previously for a grant can sign back into their account and add a claim for the new Restart Grant to their existing applications using the add-on form.
If you have not applied before you will need to start a main grant application (green button on the form) and add the Restart Grant form after you’ve completed the main form.
You do not need to submit duplicate applications for the same property.
We are expecting a large volume of applications within a short period of time. The government also requires us to carry out additional anti-fraud checks before issuing payments. This may cause a delay to the outcome of your application. We are working hard to ensure you receive payments as quickly as possible and appreciate your patience..
Discretionary grants
There will be a limited fund, allocated by the government, for the council to distribute as discretionary grants.
Because of limited funds we will only be supporting businesses that have previously successfully applied for discretionary support. The eligible businesses have been sent an email inviting them to claim, using the same process as for restart grants.
The maximum award will be £5400.
Further details are posted on our website.
Existing applications
We are largely up to date with existing applications, with the exception of those that require further review by the council’s grants team. If you have an existing application which isn’t yet resolved, please be assured we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
These are applications for the Local Restriction Support Grant (LRSG) for periods between 5 November 2020 and 31 March 2021
The government has set a deadline of 30 April 2021 for all payments covering periods up to 15 February 2021 so we are working hard to ensure all reviews are completed by then.
