Sedgemoor District Council has this week issued a final call to people in the Burnham-On-Sea area who might be eligible for financial help through the government-backed Covid-19 business grant scheme ahead of its closure next month.
The Government has requested that all payments due under the scheme should be made by the end of August; so to make sure that any applications are processed by then, the council needs to hear from applicants by 5pm on Friday, 14th August.
Since its launch in April, Sedgemoor has paid out more than £26m to 2,208 businesses under the scheme, which aims to help those in properties with rateable values under £15,000 and receiving rate relief as well as those in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors with rateable values of £51,000 or less.
“In many cases, the grants have proved a lifeline for shops, cafes, restaurants, manufacturers and other small businesses but despite extensive efforts by council officers to trace the remaining business who might be entitled to help, several hundred grants remain unclaimed,” says a spokesperson.
“Among the possible reasons for unclaimed grants are that business owners have moved away, ceased trading, failed to visit their premises, omitted to notify a change of address or decided they do not wish to claim.”
“Business people who think they have a legitimate claim to the support funding and meet the Government criteria outlined on the Business Support page of the Council’s website, should contact the Economic Development team at Sedgemoor where staff will be able to assist them but only until August 14th.”
If businesses need any advice during these testing times, they can look at the business support pages of the SDC website. They can apply for the grant directly via the online form and check the criteria at www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/covid19grants
The business support grant is different from the Discretionary Grant, which was introduced in June to assist some of those who failed to qualify under the original scheme. This was open for two weeks and heavily over-subscribed. It has now closed.
