Almost 5,000 businesses receive grants as councils rise to the challenge
"It was a huge relief to find that applying for our Small Business Rate Relief grant took just a couple of minutes online."
Almost £63 million in grants has been distributed among nearly 5,000 small businesses across Warwickshire to support them as they face up to the enormous challenges of the Covid-19 outbreak.
At a time of unprecedented concern and need for support among small businesses, Warwickshire's councils have risen to the challenge of getting Government grants out as quickly as possible where they are desperately needed.
As soon as the government funding was announced, Warwickshire County Council began working in tandem with the five districts and borough within the county and with Coventry City Council to tackle the complex logistics of getting the much-needed support into the bank accounts of businesses.
The District and Borough Councils, which administer the grants, have now allocated around 60% of eligible grants, among the best-performing local authorities in the country.
That rapid turn-round of funding has been hugely welcomed by small businesses including Noisegate Media, in Leamington Spa.
Liz Katz, director of Noisegate media, said: "Very little has been simple or straightforward over the past few weeks, so it was a huge relief to find that applying for our Small Business Rate Relief grant took just a couple of minutes online.
"The swift release of funds – money in our account by April 9th - has given us a breathing space to adjust and regroup with our team and our clients as we work out how to maintain levels of service in these increasingly uncertain times."
The process remains very much ongoing. Business who think that they may be eligible for a grant should contact their relevant district or borough council. It is essential that they get in touch with their local authority to ensure the council has all the information required to process the application. For details please visit the relevant district/borough website: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick District, Stratford. Information on eligibility can also be found on the Warwickshire County Council website here.
Latest updates are always available on WCC’s Coronavirus web pages and at the CWLEP Growth Hub’s dedicated site.
Warwickshire County Council strategic director for communities Mark Ryder said: "Our officers have worked incredibly hard with our partners at district and boroughs and Coventry to get this money out quickly to where it is so desperately needed.
"It has been a fantastic effort from the staff at all the councils which has meant that businesses in Warwickshire have received vital and, in some cases, no doubt business-saving funding very quickly. Our thanks go to staff across the councils for all their fantastic efforts."
Further support is becoming available all the time and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme opened this week. Full details of this and all support measures available can be found on the Warwickshire County Council Coronavirus Business Support website. For more information on the business rate holiday and local authority grant schemes please visit here.
Warwickshire County Council is working closely with CWLEP Growth Hub, Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, the District and Borough councils and other partners to co-ordinate and provide support to local businesses. The council, Growth Hub, Chamber and have received over 2,500 business enquires since the onset of COVID 19. WCC’s Customer Contact Centre alone received over 500 calls in two weeks from businesses, the self-employed and employees in just two weeks.The Growth Hub has conducted in-depth engagements with 472 businesses in Warwickshire.
Other actions taken by Warwickshire County Council include:
- Notifying all tenants of its Business Centres of a “no strings attached” blanket rent-free period for April, May and June with no expectation for the rents to be repaid.
- Putting over 1,000 small suppliers on accelerated payment terms to aid them with cashflow issues
- Freeing up £300,000 funding to enable Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust (an approved lender for the Government Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme) to provide additional loans to affected micro and small businesses in Warwickshire.
- WCC’s Public Health team have produced a good practice guide to aid businesses who remain open, to ensure they are providing a safe working environment and complying with social distancing rules.
The Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub has a dedicated website with the latest information and businesses can call 0300 060 3747 or email support@cwgrowthhub.co.uk for support and request a call-back via an online form. Business can also join a mailing list to receive regular news and updates including the latest Government guidance for businesses and employers.
Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, who deliver the Warwickshire start-up support service for WCC and the District and Boroughs Councils, has issued some advice for start-up businesses and arranged some upcoming online workshops.
Many links for information on business support available can be found in the main article in the previous edition of Warwickshire Still Means Business.
For more information on the assistance currently available to your business, please visit these links: