Thanet businesses will be able to get further grant funding from today (Monday 12 April) as Thanet District Council launches its new Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme.
Indicative funding for the scheme is £751,971, which is less than previously allocated to Thanet.
The scheme is also open to businesses that have not previously received an ARG.
Grants for the new scheme have been calculated as:
|
Business rates category |
New ARG |
|
Not rated |
£700 |
|
Rateable Value below £15,000 |
£700 |
|
Rateable Value £15,000 – £51,000 |
£1,050 |
|
Rateable Value over £51,000 |
£1,575 |
The grants will not be paid out until the Government has issued final guidance, due in the week beginning April 19. Thanet council says this is because new requirements may be added to the scheme, meaning additional information will be required. It is hoped that payments can be made from Monday, April 26.
Tim Willis, Deputy Chief Executive of Thanet District Council, said: “To date, we have successfully administered over £80 million in financial support for local businesses in the form of grants and rate relief, and this will continue to rise over the coming months.
“We deliberately set a wide scope for our original Additional Restrictions Grant scheme to support as many businesses as possible and to get payments made when it was most needed. Once again, we are launching this new scheme ahead of final Government guidance so we have everything in place ready to pay businesses as soon as we possibly can.
“All applications will be processed in order of when they are received, and we encourage businesses to apply as soon as possible to avoid missing out.”
What do businesses have to do?
Businesses which have already proven eligibility for an ARG are being emailed directly. The Government has stipulated that certain information must be provided which is beyond that requested previously. A form with a number of questions has been created and, where possible, the council has pre-populated it with information supplied on the previous application to avoid businesses having to re-enter it.
The deadline for completing the form is midnight on Wednesday, April 28. All relevant questions must be answered, and there will be no flexibility regarding the deadline.
Hospitality, accommodation, leisure and personal care businesses that have not applied for an ARG previously can apply via the Council’s website until midnight on Wednesday 28 April.
The funding is additional to the new Restart Grants so any business that is eligible for a Restart Grant is not eligible for an ARG.
Existing ARG scheme
Businesses which previously received ARG funding will automatically receive an additional £100 top-up payment. This is possible due to a small amount of original funding remaining
Businesses do not need to take any action to receive this amount. Payments will be made by April 16, into the same bank account as previous ARG payments, and will take a few working days before they appear.
Additional advice for businesses
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email highstreets@thanet.gov.uk to sign-up for updates direct to your inbox
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call the business support line (03333 602300), delivered by the Kent & Medway Growth Hub, between 8:30am and 5pm Monday – Friday.
