D2N2 is encouraging small businesses in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to contact their Local Authorities to apply for Small Business Grant Funding.
Nationally, of the £12.3 billion made available for the fund, only 50% has been applied for and allocated to businesses. That means there are still many businesses in our region that have yet to apply and take advantage of the scheme.
Following the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on individuals and businesses, the UK Government announced on 17 March 2020 a new package of relief measures to help businesses which have been impacted or which have had to close.
These measures included the Small Business Grant Fund (SGBF) which is managed by local authorities and provides up to £10,000 as a one-off grant to help small business owners meet their operating costs.
Businesses that are eligible need to have been in receipt of small business rate relief (SBRR) or rural rate relief (RRR) on the 11 March 2020.
Those small businesses whose premises have a rateable value between £12,000 and £15,000 and receive tapered relief also qualify.
Eligible businesses can submit their application online.
Small Business Grants
Once a claim has been made, our local authorities are working as quickly as possible to process the grants and payment will be made as soon as possible to support businesses
Sajeeda Rose, Chief Executive of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Our local authorities are working extremely hard to get money out and into the bank accounts of our businesses. We know that this is a lifeline for so many of our local people and communities, helping people pay rent or staffing costs.”
“We are conscious that there are still a number of businesses who haven’t applied for the grants. Our local authorities are identifying those businesses and trying to contact them directly. However, if you think you are eligible, we’d encourage you to apply directly to your local billing authority”
To support local authorities and businesses, D2N2 has set up a webpage which signposts businesses to their Local Authority pages, that include Business Support Grants and Business Rates information.
For more information go to our Small Business Grants webpage.
