Last chance to apply for Coronavirus business support grants 

Local small businesses and retail, hospitality or leisure businesses now have less than a month to apply to Woking Borough Council for support grants made available by the Government in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

To date, the Council has awarded £14.4 million in grant payments to 1,059 local businesses. Two types of grants remain open to new applications until midnight on Thursday 27 August 2020.

Small Business Grant Fund

Local businesses which usually receive Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief may qualify for the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) of £10,000.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

Retail, hospitality or leisure businesses may qualify for a grant of £10,000 (if their rateable value is below £15,000), or a grant of £25,000 (if their rateable value is between £15,001 and £51,000), under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).

Cllr Ayesha Azad, Woking Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Finance, said: “These grants have been vital to our local economy – helping ensure the survival of shops, cafes, hotels, restaurants and many other businesses.

“Since April this year, the Council has contacted eligible small businesses to advise them of these supplementary grants. The finance team is now is the final stages of assessing applications and awarding payments. If you think your business is eligible for a grant, I urge you to apply online via the Council’s website as soon as possible.”

Find out more and apply online

A third scheme, the Discretionary Grants Fund, was also launched by the Council at the beginning of June. This enabled the Council to award discretionary grants of up to £10,000 and £25,000 where it was judged that businesses would have received a grant if they had been eligible under the Small Business and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Funds.

The Discretionary Grants Fund application process closed on 21 June. All funds have been fully allocated and payments made, and it will not reopen to new applicants.