Buckinghamshire Council announces fresh support for local businesses

Buckinghamshire Council has announced fresh support for local businesses adversely affected by the impact of the Omicron variant.

Lots of local businesses suffered a downturn at the end of 2021 because of the impact of Omicron on trade. The government has given local councils funds so they can issue grants to eligible businesses in the hospitality, leisure, transportation and events sectors.

The funding available falls into two categories:

• Hospitality and leisure grant – Up to £6,000 available to eligible businesses depending on the rateable value of their property.
• Additional Restrictions Grant Booster (ARG Booster) – Grants of £1,500 for eligible businesses in hospitality, events and transportation who do not qualify for the hospitality and leisure grant. Due to limited funding allocation, ARG Booster grants will be paid on a first come, first served basis until all funding is allocated.

Businesses should apply online on the Business grants and schemes page of the Buckinghamshire Council website.

Applications for the ARG booster will be open for around a month, but as they will close as soon as the funding is used up, businesses are advised not to delay their application, which they can make from Monday 24th January 2022.

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, said: ‘Helping local businesses recover and build back from the pandemic is one of our key priorities. I know the impact of Omicron has been a fresh body-blow for the hospitality and leisure sector in particular. We will continue to do what we can to help businesses through this latest period of uncertainty in order to help them bounce back.

I’m proud of the level of support we have been able to make available to many of our local businesses here in Buckinghamshire and I urge businesses to come forward and claim this help as soon as possible if you think you qualify.‘

The two grants are part of package of support for businesses announced by the Government at the end of 2021. This includes some business rates relief which is also currently available for eligible firms. Further information can be found on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

*Source of article : Press release from Buckinghamshire Council.