Additional financial support for businesses affected by Covid-19 will be rolled out in Tendring as quickly as possible.
The Government announced this week (Tuesday, 21 December) a package of cash support for firms who are continuing to struggle due to the pandemic, which will be administered by local authorities.
Grants of up to £6,000, depending on the rateable value of their premises, will be available for businesses within the leisure and hospitality sector, such as pubs, restaurants, cinemas or amusement parks.
In addition councils will receive a top-up to their Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding, which can be used for general business support or given out in grants.
Tendring District Council (TDC) is gearing up to roll out the leisure sector grants using existing processes, and will look to start up again in the New Year – subject to getting the necessary details from government, as grants cannot be processed until these are received.
While an application process is required, TDC will avoid wherever possible businesses having to apply again if they have already successfully received grants under previous schemes.
Updates will be posted on the TDC website as and when they happen, and businesses are encouraged to check www.tendringdc.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Carlo Guglielmi, TDC Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said the council was preparing to step-up quickly.
“We know what a hard time businesses are having at the moment, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors where customers are cancelling bookings due to isolation requirements or as they take precautions ahead of Christmas,” Cllr Guglielmi said.
“At this stage in the pandemic we have robust systems in place we can quickly deploy to pay out new grants, and we are preparing to do so as soon as we have additional details from Government.
“We will need to consider what we do with our additional ARG funding, as we have used previous allocations across some direct grants, but also to fund business support programmes through the North Essex Economic Board, and we will evaluate how best to use it in the New Year.
“I would ask eligible businesses to be patient, to check our website, and reassure them that we are moving as fast as we can to get this support out.”
