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Coronavirus business grants

Applications for grants have now closed.

Both the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant and the Additional Restrictions Grant have now closed.

Information remains below for businesses who have previously applied so they can refer to it.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant is a scheme to support Hospitality, Leisure and Accommodation businesses who have had their trading impacted by the recent surge in Covid cases because of the new Omicron variant.

This is a one-off grant scheme that commenced from Thursday 30 December 2021 and closed on 18 March 2022.

This scheme will be administered in line with Government requirements.

Who is eligible?

Grants are available for businesses that have a Business Rates account as of Thursday 30 December 2021 and operate within the Leisure, Hospitality and Accommodation sectors including:

Support Type

Types of Business

Hospitality

Food courts, Public houses/pub restaurants

Restaurants, Roadside restaurants

Wine bars, Cafés

Leisure

Casinos and gambling clubs, Cinemas

Museums and art galleries, Stately homes & historic houses

Theatres, Events venues, Night clubs & discotheques, Arenas, Concert halls

Zoos & safari parks, Amusement parks, Tourist attractions, Theme parks

Amusement arcades, Wedding venues

Soft play centres or areas

Indoor riding centres

Clubs & institutions, Village halls & scout huts, cadet huts, etc.

Accommodation

Caravan parks, Caravan sites and pitches, Chalet parks, Campsites

Coaching inns, Country house hotels, Guest houses, Hostels, Boarding houses  

Hotels, Lodge, Holiday apartments, Cottages, or bungalows

Canal boats or other vessels

B&Bs, Catered holiday homes, Holiday homes

 

Businesses will only be eligible where their main service falls within hospitality, leisure, or accommodation. If your business operates services that could be considered hospitality, leisure or accommodation, and falls into another category, the main service will be determined by assessing which category constitutes 50% or more of the overall income.

For the purpose of this scheme the following exclusions apply:

  • Hospitality - the definition of a hospitality business should exclude food kiosks and businesses whose main service (generating 50% or more of income) is a takeaway
  • Leisure - the definition of a leisure business should exclude all retail businesses, coach tour operators, and tour operators
  • Accommodation - the definition of an accommodation business should exclude private dwellings, education accommodation, residential homes, care homes, residential family centres and beach huts.

Who isn’t eligible?

Businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made, are not eligible for funding under this scheme for the purposes of this grant

Businesses that have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework.

Businesses that were not registered for Business Rates on Thursday 30 December 2021.

Funding amounts

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant will support eligible businesses in the Leisure and Hospitality sectors with one-off grants of up to £6,000. The following thresholds apply for these businesses:

  • Businesses occupying premises with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £2,667.
  • Businesses occupying premises with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £4,000.
  • Businesses occupying premises with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or over on 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £6,000.

The deadline for applications for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant was 18 March 2022.

The Council must carry out pre-payment checks, so please allow up to 14 days before you receive a decision and payment.

Please note: the grant administration team will not have the capacity to provide information about previous grants to businesses so you will need to obtain through reviewing your bank account statements and accounts.

Additional Restrictions Grant

The Additional Restrictions Grant aims to support local businesses based in Waverley, which have been severely affected following the increased infections since December 2021 due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Applications closed on 18 March 2022.

The income/turnover of the business must be shown to have decreased by at least 25% since December 2021 due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Applications will be open to all businesses that are not eligible to receive the Omicron Hospitality & Leisure Grant, although we will prioritise those applications from businesses who missed out on earlier grant schemes as well as:

  • businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors
  • businesses in the events sector
  • businesses involved in the travel industry

Businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made, are not eligible for funding under this scheme.

An application process is in place, and applicants will need to demonstrate:

  • Their business is based within the Waverley area
  • Since December 2021, their gross income or turnover has reduced by at least 25% from pre-pandemic levels, and this must be provided as evidence e.g. evidence of income for December 2021 and December 2019
  • Evidence of any property or fixed costs

All applicants will acknowledge that the application and award details will be shared with other government departments, including HM Revenues & Customs.

Category

Grant Amount

  • Eligible mobile trader (e.g. taxi driver, mobile personal care), unable to trade or severe loss of income due to COVID-19, where there are no specific business premises
  • Eligible market trader that is unable to trade, that has been trading at a market within the Waverley area
  • Fixed ongoing business-related costs
  • Where a taxi driver is living in another local borough, but registered with Waverley Borough Council, they would firstly approach their home borough for a grant. If they do not qualify, this will be paid by Waverley Borough Council
  • Experiencing a 25% loss in overall gross income or turnover since December 2021
£1,000
  • Businesses occupying a commercial property on the local authority ratings list, with a Rateable Value of £15,000 of less
  • Where there is no Rateable Value, then businesses paying rent of £15,000 per annum (£1,250 per month) or less
  • If no Rateable Value or rent, then the local authority may estimate the Rateable Value of the property or workspace where the business is based, or it may take account of other business-related fixed costs in the name of the business, with a value of £15,000 or less per annum
  • Experiencing a 25% loss in overall gross income or turnover since December 2021
£2,667
  • Businesses occupying a commercial property on the local authority ratings list, with a Rateable Value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000
  • Where there is no Rateable Value, then businesses paying rent of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 per annum
  • If no Rateable Value or rent, then the local authority may estimate the Rateable Value of the property where the business is based, or it may take account of other business- related fixed costs in the name of the business with a value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 per annum
  • Experiencing a 25% loss in overall gross income or turnover since December 2021
£4,000
  • Businesses occupying a commercial property on the local authority’s ratings list, with a Rateable Value of £51,000 or above
  • Where there is no Rateable Value, then businesses paying rent of £51,000 or above per annum
  • If no Rateable Value or rent, then the local authority may estimate the rateable value or rent of the property where the business is based, or it may take account of any other business-related fixed costs of the name of the business with a value of over £51,000 per annum
  • Experiencing a 25% loss in overall gross income or turnover since December 2021
£6,000
  • In exceptional circumstances, the local authority may award a grant above the amounts outlined in the above boxes
  • This is at the discretion of the local authority, and dependant on available funding
  • Exceptional circumstances are not defined but needs to meet as a minimum two conditions – severe loss of income and closure
  • Award of exceptional grants may be taken into account in the award of any future grants
  • Experiencing a 25% loss in overall gross income or turnover since December 2021

Up to a maximum of £10,000

 

 

Applications closed on 18 March 2022.

Please note: the grant administration team will not have the capacity to provide information about previous grants to businesses so you will need to obtain through reviewing your bank account statements and accounts.

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