Businesses urged to apply for support grants

Businesses that have not yet applied for coronavirus support grants are being urged to put in a claim.

Lancaster City Council has so far paid out more than £17million in grants to 1,508 businesses.

But around 1,500 eligible businesses have still to apply and they are now being urged to act quickly to ensure they get the financial support to which they are entitled.

Councillor Dr Erica Lewis, leader of Lancaster City Council, said: “We have had tremendous feedback from the business community recognising the great efforts by the council’s staff to turn around the payments so swiftly, most often within 48 hours of applying.

“And while we’ve been encouraged by the take-up so far, there remains a significant number that have not yet applied.

“These grants do not need to be repaid so there’s no reason for a business not to apply – it’s financial help to which they are entitled and will enable them to bounce back once the present difficulties have come to an end. I would urge any that have not yet applied to do so as soon as they can.”

Most businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, along with those receiving Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief, can apply for the following:

•       Eligible properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive a £10,000 grant
•       Eligible properties with a rateable value of more than £15,000 and up to £51,000 will receive a £25,000 grant

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors can apply for a grant at the following link: Lancaster.gov.uk/rhl-grant.

Those registered for Small Business Rate Relief, or Rural Rate Relief, should apply at Lancaster.gov.uk/sbrrgrant.

To be eligible for a grant, companies and traders must have been liable for business rates on 11 March 2020.

Lancaster City Council is, however, currently working on an additional support packages which could benefit those businesses that have not yet been able to receive financial support. More information will be made available in the coming weeks.

For specific queries on the grants and other support that is available to businesses, contact the dedicated business support team at econdev@lancaster.gov.uk.

Businesses can also sign-up to receive updates on the support available to them at Lancaster.gov.uk/covid19support.

Last updated: 17 April 2020