Plymouth businesses that have been forced to close due to the national COVID-19 restrictions will now be able to apply for financial support through Plymouth City Council.
The Government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) scheme is available to support businesses that have been legally required to close and occupy a rateable property.
Eligible businesses can claim the following grants, based on their rateable value:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants to be £1,334 per 28 days;
- For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, grants to be £2,000 per 28 days;
- For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over, grants to be £3,000 per 28 days.
Businesses can apply through the Plymouth City Council website from 10am on Monday 16 November.
Certain information will be required to protect against fraudulent claims, including the business rates account numbers. Sole traders will also be asked to provide their date of birth. All businesses will also need to supply their bank details as well as an image of their business bank statement or cheque book if this is their first COVID-19 grant from the Council.
A helpline has been set up to offer additional support to businesses applying for the LRSG scheme. This will be open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm from Monday 16 November on 01752 308984.
The Council is aiming to make all grant payments within ten days of application.
Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “Our team has worked as quickly as possible to get the new scheme up-and-running so we can get businesses the financial support they urgently need.
“We’re now working on our plans for the discretionary grant scheme, as we want to ensure we understand where there are gaps in support and make sure it has the best possible impact. However, we already know and are incredibly concerned that the £5 million we’ve been allocated for this is simply not enough to support the volume of businesses that have been impacted by the second lockdown.”
Plymouth has been allocated £5 million for the second discretionary grants scheme, known as the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, and further details about this will be shared shortly.
More information about the business grants, including FAQs, is available at investplymouth.co.uk/business-grants.