£1m grants pot to help businesses
A£1M grant funding pot available to support Hyndburn businesses has launched and will remain open for another week.
Firms which have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis can apply to Hyndburn Borough Council for up to £25,000 from the Local Business Discretionary Grants Fund under new guidance released by the Government as part of its response to COVID-19.
Administered by the council, the fund is aimed at businesses not eligible for the recent Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Fund.
The discretionary grants will help support local businesses by providing much needed funding to help them meet the cost of continuing to run their business during this difficult time.
Applications are open to all businesses, but as the funding is limited to around £1m, priority will be given to those in shared office space, market traders, Bed and Breakfast businesses and charities occupying smaller premises and those businesses suffering from a significant drop in income, those facing continuing high fixed property costs and those of significance to the local economy.
Council leader Miles Parkinson OBE said: “In the last three months, we have issued more than £21m in additional funding to help local businesses and Hyndburn has been recognised nationally for leading the country in its efforts to support the local economy.
“The additional money from the Government in the form of the Local Business Discretionary Grants Fund will allow the council to make a further £1m of payments to help struggling businesses.
“This is a limited pot of money and in order to allocate it fairly, we are inviting applications from businesses within a twoweek window. Doing this will mean that we can allocate the funds efficiently and we can maximise the essential support this grant will give to businesses in Hyndburn.”
The deadline for applications is 10am on Thursday, June 18. For information or to apply, visit www. hyndburnbc.gov.uk and search for Discretionary Grants Fund.