08.06.20
Newcastle City Council launches £3m SME support fund
Newcastle City Council launched a £3m fund on Friday (June 5) to support Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) that haven’t had been eligible for previous emergency business grant schemes.
Councils across the UK have launched discretionary funds to support businesses in the area that haven’t previously benefitted from Government support.
The Council fund will accommodate an additional 600 businesses with grants worth £5,000, including small businesses in shared offices where they don’t have their own business rates assessment, Bed & Breakfasts that pay Council Tax instead of business rates and Charity properties.
Cllr Ged Bell, Cabinet Member for Employment & Culture at Newcastle City Council said:
“We know businesses across the city are really struggling and we are pleased that we can launch this new fund today to help support our local economy.
“This discretionary fund is for the many small businesses that missed out on previous funds, such as the high proportion of our city’s businesses that operate out of shared workspaces.
“Government has set the parameters of this funding and we’ve further developed it, to ensure we can get cash to as many businesses as we can.
“This fund will also support owners of B&Bs who couldn’t take in any guests due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as some market traders and the charity sector, which support the most vulnerable people in our city.
“We need to stress that this funding, unlike previous grants, will need to be capped at around 600 businesses so we would urge businesses to act fast before it is all allocated.”
“We will be announcing further support measures for businesses worth £1.5 million in the next couple of weeks.
“These are challenging times for SMEs but Newcastle City Council is committed to doing all we can to support them through this economic and health crisis.”
The Council is also supporting pubs, cafes and restaurants to reopen safely through collaboration with business owners, Government and Northumbria Police.
Solutions include spreading customers out into ‘pavement cafes’, and greater flexibility around late-night levy fees.
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