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Grant payments totalling £10.43 million have been paid to 740 local businesses to support them during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Following the Government’s announcement on 17 March to provide financial support for small businesses and retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, Woking Borough Council identified and contacted 1,260 local businesses which may be eligible for these grants.
Two types of grants where made available from 1 April. Businesses that usually receive Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief now qualify for the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) of £10,000. Businesses in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors qualify for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) of £10,000 if their rateable value is below £15,000, or a grant of £25,000 if their rateable value is between £15,001 and £51,000.
Cllr Ayesha Azad, Woking Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Finance, said: “The Government’s financial support for businesses is a critical lifeline during these challenging and unprecedented times. This support is in the form of grants, which do not need to be paid back.
“On 1 April, the Council received £14.9 million grant funding from the Government. To date, it has distributed 70% of this amount in grant payments and its teams are working hard to assess all applications and process payments quickly for eligible businesses.
“I urge eligible businesses to apply if they have not done so. It’s quick and easy to do online. I’d also like to extend my thanks to the Council officers who have worked incredibly hard to set up this new system and process the large amount of applications and payments.”
Over the coming weeks, the Council will re-contact qualifying businesses which have not yet applied for a grant. Eligible businesses can apply online at woking.gov.uk/businessgrants
Further advice and guidance, including business rates holidays, guidance for takeaway food businesses, self-employed advice and more, is available on the Council’s Coronavirus webpages at www.woking.gov.uk/coronavirus