Spelthorne Borough Council has launched their Discretionary Business Grants Fund scheme, which will provide support during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The government announced an additional £617million would be made available to small businesses across the nation and the Council, which has received £715,000, is now able to open its scheme for applications.

This grant fund is aimed at small and micro businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs who were not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund, or the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Fund.

Businesses must be small, have under 50 employees and they must also demonstrate they have seen a significant drop of income due to Coronavirus restriction measures. There will be different levels of grant payments; the maximum will be £25,000 and grants of £10,000, £5,000 and £2,500 can also be awarded.

In line with the guidelines funding will include a variety of businesses falling within the following categories:

• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces such as Cafes, shops, restaurants and other food and beverage outlets in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment.
• Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment.
• Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of Business Rate.
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
• Businesses in the Supply Chain to the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality that did not qualify for business grants.
• Businesses who may qualify for a business grant but is waiting for a decision from the independent Valuation Office Agency.
• Start-up businesses who have seen a significant fall in seed investment due to the Covid-19 crisis.
• Private businesses providing a mixture of wellness and medical support that, have been effectively closed due to social distancing measures.
• Properties used for the provision of temporary living / boarding accommodation to animals (eg, catteries and kennels) that were closed or saw a significant reduction in income due to the Covid-19 restrictions on human travel.
• Businesses that provide cultural, arts and tourism services that did not qualify for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grants · Businesses who may qualify for a business grant but is waiting for a decision from the independent Valuation Office Agency.

How do I apply?

Businesses can read the full terms and conditions and make their application by visiting this website: https://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/LADGF

There will be a closing date of midnight on Sunday 14 June 2020 for businesses to apply for this discretionary grant fund.

Applications will then be assessed against eligibility criteria. Successful applicants will be contacted as soon as a decision is made with payments commencing the week beginning 29 June 2020.

We anticipate this round of grant funding to be oversubscribed so it is important all businesses applying give as much information as possible and all businesses must sign a declaration stating they are not committing any fraud and fully complying with any state aid limits.