Local businesses urged to apply for support grants

Eligible small businesses in Thanet are being urged to apply for the Government’s coronavirus support grant.

The council has been distributing funds to Thanet businesses since Tuesday 7 April. It has been processing on average 289 applications a day and is up to date with all applications submitted via the online form. So far, it has provided over £23.7m to 2,150 local businesses *  

Businesses in the district who have not yet applied are urged to go to thanet.gov.uk/cash-grants-for-businesses to secure the emergency funding they are entitled to. 

All businesses, from any sector, who have been receiving Small Business Rates Relief are eligible to apply for a £10,000 grant. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector with a rateable value of up to £15,000 are eligible for a grant of £10,000 and those with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 can apply for a £25,000 grant.

Qualifying businesses include shops; cafes, restaurants, takeaways and drinking establishments; cinemas, music venues and nightclubs; petrol stations; gyms, leisure and sports facilities; estate agents and letting agents; betting shops and bingo halls; car showrooms; hotels and guest houses.

Leader of Thanet District Council, Cllr Rick Everitt said:
“We know this is an extremely difficult time so it’s encouraging to know we have supported over 2,000 local businesses so far. I would like to thank all the staff who have been working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. In order for our dedicated team to continue to issue money without delay, we are asking businesses to submit details via an online form.

“We urge businesses to go on to our website and check if they are eligible. The grant funding does not have to be paid back and is there to support companies and their staff as they weather the storm of this coronavirus pandemic.

“We estimate that there could be as many as 1,000 businesses who have not yet made an application so the team is contacting them by email, text and telephone to encourage them to apply. This proactive approach could be the difference between businesses being able to continue to trade in the future or having to shut its doors.”

For more information about the grant support scheme and for businesses to find out if they are eligible, people should go to: thanet.gov.uk/cash-grants-for-businesses

*Figures accurate as of Thursday 23 April 2020.

The council has recalculated business rates for those eligible for retail or nursery discounts and has applied the business rates holiday to over a thousand accounts totalling £20.7m. New bills to this effect were issued on 27 March 2020.