Brighton and Hove City Council are actively contacting the businesses that are eligible for a share of a grant from the government, with a deadline of the end of September looming.
Businesses may be able to claim up to £75,000 from the £6.9 million grant that comes as part of the Covid Additional Relief Fund, with the council stating that it would be “unacceptable” not to use all of the funding being made available.
Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said:
“We know it’s been a tough time for local businesses and many more are continuing to suffer because of the long-term economic impact off the pandemic. It’s simply unacceptable for us in sight of that not to use every eligible penny of government funding to help local businesses.
“With this new process, we’re doing our utmost to make sure that local business get what they are entitled to from this government grant before the deadline at the end of September.”
Changes to the scheme mean that thee Is now no need for businesses to apply for the funding, with councils instead identifying the ones that are eligible and making contact with them.
In January of this year, the council’s Planning and Resource sub-committee approved a local scheme that was expected to receive up to 1,000 applicants. By mid-June there had only been 224, however, producing a total of £1.2 million being awarded.
Should any money be left over, this will be claimed back by the government.
