The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
More businesses will be eligible for government grants to help them through the COVID-19 crisis from Monday.
South Holland District Council will launch the second phase of its Discretionary Grant Scheme, widening the criteria to allow even more businesses in the district to access vital funding to support them through the impact of coronavirus.
Since lockdown began in March the council has helped distribute over £17.2m of government support to 1,500 businesses in the district, with this new round designed to help those who have been unable to access the previous packages.
There are five main criteria that must be satisfied before submitting an application, with all eligible business receiving a fixed grant of £5,000. To apply businesses must:
* be based in South Holland
* prove that they were trading on March 11, 2020
* not be insolvent or in administration
* have a business bank account
* not have benefited from any other central government COVID-19 related grants and support.
Applications can be made by filling out a form on the council website, with the process due to go live at 10am on Monday.
This can be found at www.sholland.gov.uk/GrantSupport.
This is the only place that these forms can be completed, and any third party websites or links not associated with South Holland District Council will not be able to access the grants and may be fraudulent.
To allow the new scheme to go live, the first phase of the discretionary grant scheme, which has been focused on supporting businesses in South Holland with fixed property costs, will close on Friday at 5pm.
Any businesses who received a grant of under £5,000 through the first scheme will also receive additional support to ensure they receive the same amount as those applying in phase two.
Coun Nick Worth (pictured), portfolio holder for growth and commercialisation, welcomed the expansion: “By expanding further with this new phase of funding I believe we can offer a lifeline to many who have previously been left out in other national schemes.”
“It is important that as much of this Government support as possible is used for the benefit of South Holland, so I would urge people to check if they’re eligible, gather all the necessary information for us to approve bids quickly and accurately, and to get your application in as quickly as possible when the form opens on Monday.”
