Thanet’s Discretionary Grant Scheme launches today – Monday 1 June

From today, eligible local businesses affected by COVID-19 will have the opportunity to apply for a share of £1.6m funding as part of a new Discretionary Business Grant scheme for Thanet. 

The scheme is aimed at businesses that didn’t qualify for the previous round of business grant funding.

The funding has been provided by Central Government and will be administered by Thanet District Council in line with guidance set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The Government has encouraged councils to target the funding to specific businesses including bed and breakfast accommodation, offices in shared spaces, small charities and market traders. 

Thanet District Council has expanded this to also include businesses in the following sectors: Design, Film, TV, Radio, Photography, Music, Performing and Visual Arts and Boat charters.

Eligible businesses are invited to apply online and have a two week window to apply. The deadline for submission is 11.59pm on Monday 15 June.

All applications are due to be processed by Friday 19 June, with payments made the following week.

Leader of Thanet District Council, Cllr Rick Everitt said: “It is vital that we support our small businesses during this difficult time. Businesses have told us they are continuing to incur costs, but have lost income as a result of the global pandemic and many haven’t qualified for previous government funding. We know how important it is to help as many local businesses as possible and as quickly as possible. We will be distributing the £1.6m equally to all businesses that apply and are assessed as eligible. I encourage any small business owner who is eligible to make an application and access all the help that is available.”

As part of the process, applicants will need to show that they have ongoing fixed costs, and provide evidence that they have lost income.

The council will make a fixed and equal award to all eligible applicants who successfully meet the criteria and scheme requirements. Successful applicants will receive the grant, and unsuccessful applicants will receive a notification before the end of the month.

The size of the award will depend on the final number of eligible applications. The maximum allocation will be capped at £10,000.

Based on assumptions of the number of applications, it is estimated that all eligible businesses will receive a grant in the region of £2,900. This figure is subject to significant estimation and could vary substantially depending on the number of applicants.