Newark and Sherwood and Rushcliffe borough councils confirm applications now open for business financial support grants

Newark and Sherwood District Council has today launched an application form for businesses to apply for financial support if they were affected when Newark and Sherwood entered Tier 2, Tier 3 and the latest national restrictions.

The application form will be open for two weeks and will close at 5pm on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.

All businesses are urged to apply as soon as possible and the district council has officers ready to start processing grant payments immediately.

Grants available include:

• Local Restrictions Support Grant (open) - a discretionary scheme designed to support businesses in the hospitality, hotel, bed and breakfast and leisure sectors, that were affected while remaining open when entering Tier 2 local restrictions in Nottinghamshire on October 14, 2020.

• Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed) – a scheme to support businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, beauty and leisure sectors, that were legally required to close as a result of Nottinghamshire entering Tier 3 on October 30, 2020. This scheme will be administered in line with government requirements.

• National Restrictions Support Grant (closed) – a scheme to support businesses that that have been legally required to close as a result of national restrictions commencing on November 5, 2020. This scheme will be administered in line with government requirements.

• Local Restrictions Support Grant (sector) – a scheme to support businesses that that were legally required to close on March 23, 2020, and have never been able to re-open. This scheme will be administered in line with government requirements.

• Additional Restrictions Grant (discretionary) – a discretionary scheme to provide additional one-off funding to businesses in the hospitality, accommodation, beauty, leisure and non-essential retail affected by the national restrictions.

More information about each grant and the eligibility criteria can be found on the Newark and Sherwood District Council website.

One application form has been developed to make it as simple as possible for eligible businesses to apply. The application form can be accessed here: https://selfservice.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/renderform.aspx?t=255&k=505A8E74FB18C4790ECC92BCA97A35E1279159A0

David Lloyd, leader of the district council, said “It has been a difficult year for our businesses and I know many are in dire need of funds so I encourage those that are eligible for support to complete the online form as soon as possible.

"We are one of the first councils in Nottinghamshire to launch these business grants and the application process has been simplified into one application form.

"In order to get the grants paid to our businesses immediately we have made money available in advance of receiving the funding from central government.

“We know that businesses are worried about their future. Newark and Sherwood District Council will do all it can to continue to support businesses and drive economic growth within our town centres and beyond.

“Our finance and revenues teams will work through the applications as a priority to make sure payments are made swiftly.”

If any business has any questions, they should contact Newark and Sherwood District Council by emailing customerservices@nsdc.info or by calling 01636 650 000.

Rushcliffe Borough Council will also be administering grants.

Many eligible businesses can now access the discretionary Local Business Support Grant Scheme and other support at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/businesscoronavirus and information on other business support activities.

Grants will be processed as quickly as possible with business owners asked to ensure all supporting documents are included with any application.

Nottinghamshire Councils have worked together to create a consistent scheme across the county seeking to support those in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors and those who directly supply them.

These include:

• Bookmakers
• Camping and caravan sites
• Exhibition centres, conference halls and event spaces
• Hotels
• Leisure centres, gyms, yoga or dance centres
• Licensed bars and pub
• Outdoor sporting venues such as golf clubs, stables and riding centres
• Play centres and soft play centres
• Restaurants and cafes with indoor or outdoor seating
• Tattoo parlours, tanning salons, spas and beauty services, hair salons and barbers
• Businesses and self-employed business owners operating predominantly in these sectors.

Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, Simon Robinson said: “These vital grants will be distributed to eligible businesses as part of the wider support to the economy as we assist central government in managing the impacts of covid-19.

“We know businesses everywhere are facing an incredibly tough position. Our teams will work hard with business owners to ensure the grants can reach them as soon as possible.

“It follows over £19m of grants being distributed in the first lockdown earlier this year.”