More than £26 million is being paid out to more than 4,000 businesses in South Lakeland to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Automated payments totalling £24.8m are being sent to 3,558 businesses as part of the January lockdown support package.
At the same time, £1.482m is being paid to 662 businesses through the second discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant.
The money was paid out on Wednesday and should be in bank accounts from today.
Councillor Robin Ashcroft, portfolio holder for economy, culture and leisure at South Lakeland District Council, said: “This payment of more than £26m is the biggest ever BACS payment that SLDC has ever made, and required our payment limit to be raised especially.
“Many members of SLDC staff have worked tirelessly, including through the night in some cases, to get these grants out in the most effective and efficient way to the businesses who desperately need this support.
“We are still asking businesses that believe they qualify for a grant to go online to check their eligibility and to apply, and for businesses expecting a grant to look out for these payments going through.
“Supporting businesses in South Lakeland through these tough times is one of our main priorities and SLDC is committed to doing everything we can to make sure they get through this and recover.”
Full details of the support available to businesses required to close or negatively impacted by the current lockdown, the November lockdown and previous Tier 2 and 3 restrictions, and how to apply, is available at https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/business-and-trade/business-support-grants-coronavirus-covid-19/.
Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses legally forced to close as a result of the national restrictions should ensure they have applied for the November National Lockdown Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) if eligible as we will use this information to make payment for the January Business Support Package.
It is currently administering the following schemes:
National Lockdown (5 November – 1 December):
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (for Closed businesses) Addendum – for businesses legally forced to close during national lockdown. Grant Application Status: Applications are OPEN (these details will be used for the January Business Support package also).
Tier 2 Restrictions (2 December – 30 December):
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (for Open businesses) – for businesses that were able to open and trade during Tier 2 restrictions but that were negatively affected by Tier 2 local restrictions (for example, the rule of 6 or limit on number of households mixing). Status: Applications are OPEN.
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (for Closed businesses) – largely for pubs who were unable to reopen due to not serving food (substantial meals). Status: Payments will be made AUTOMATICALLY for these businesses. Those awaiting payment should contact us directly.
• Christmas Support Payment – for wet-led pubs where sales are largely derived from drink sales (over 50 per cent). Status: Applications are OPEN.
Tier 4 Restrictions (31 December to 4 January):
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (for Closed businesses) Addendum Tier 4 – for businesses legally forced to close due to Tier 4 restrictions. Status: Apply as part of the January Business Support Package.
January Business Support Package (for National Lockdown 5 January 2021 onwards):
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (for Closed businesses): Status: Applications are OPEN
• Closed Business Lockdown Payment: one-off grants of £4,000, £6,000 and £9,000 will be available for closed retail, hospitality and leisure businesses based on your properties rateable value. Status: Applications are OPEN to those not eligible for the November lockdown grant.
• Additional Restrictions Grant: this discretionary scheme will relaunch in line with the national lockdown, for businesses not eligible for the above lockdown schemes. Status: Applications are OPEN to new discretionary applicants.
Details about business support and advice is available on the SLDC website at https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/business-and-trade/