South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) has told businesses intending to apply for the government’s Discretionary Grants Fund it is working hard to open the scheme for applications as soon as possible.
After the government announced the scheme on May 1, SLDC received guidance on Wednesday night on how the scheme should work.
SLDC officers are now working hard to interpret the guidance, agree a policy and set up the application scheme.
The discretionary scheme is aimed at supporting some of the small businesses who were not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Fund. It will prioritise small and micro businesses with fixed property-related costs which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Councillor Robin Ashcroft, Portfolio Holder for the Economy and Culture, said: “We are acutely aware of the need for this grant scheme and now we have the guidance from government we will get it up and running as soon as we possibly can.
“Please bear with us while we agree a policy, set the criteria and set up an application process which is easy to understand, but is also efficient and effective and has the necessary safeguards in place.
“We anticipate that demand for these grants will outstrip the amount we have been given to allocate but we promise to distribute this money fairly and as swiftly as humanly possible.
“We are proud of the many and varied businesses operating in South Lakeland and are committed, as always, to doing whatever we can to help them.”
The government guidance says: “This grant scheme widens access to support to businesses who are struggling to survive due to the Corona virus shutdown but are unable to access other grant funding. Local authorities should make payments as quickly as possible to support struggling businesses. We anticipate that the first payments made under the scheme will be received by businesses by early June.”
Grants of £25,000, £10,000 or any amount under £10,000 will be available. The value of the payment to be made to a business is at the discretion of the local authority.
