Cheshire East Launches Discretionary Fund for Prioritised Businesses
Posted 28/05/2020
Cheshire East Council has launched a £4.28m discretionary fund to support small businesses.
The scheme will be open for applications from Monday (1 June) at 8am. The council is asking prioritised businesses that think they may be eligible, to prepare their evidence in advance – as allocation will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
The funding, which will be issued in a phased approach, will initially be open to applications for a 14-day period for the following prioritised businesses:
- Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible work spaces, such as business centres and science parks, which do not have their own business rates assessment;
- Regular market traders, who do not have their own business rates assessment;
- Bed and breakfast businesses, which pay council tax instead of business rates; and,
- Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief, which would otherwise have been eligible for small business rates relief or rural rate relief.
It is anticipated that the majority of grants awarded will be for £10,000 or less although some retail, hospitality and leisure businesses may be eligible for grants of £25,000.
The funding policy, which was agreed today (28 May), has strict eligibility criteria including mandatory requirements set by government, which businesses will need to review before they apply. Some of the criteria are that businesses:
- Are trading from a business premises in Cheshire East;
- Are able to demonstrate relatively high ongoing fixed property-related costs;
- Can demonstrate they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the Covid-19 pandemic;
- Have fewer than 50 employees;
- Were trading on 11 March 2020 and are not in administration or insolvent;
- Are not eligible for any other central government cash grant;
- In receiving the grant, it would comply with State Aid requirements; and,
- Occupy a property, or part of a property, with a rateable value of below £51,000 or annual rent below £51,000 or annual mortgage payments below £51,000.
For full details, please see https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/business/business_information/coronavirus-local-discretionary-grant-scheme.aspx
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