Businesses in Scarborough borough urged to get their share of £68m Government funding

In March, the Government announced a package of support to help businesses through the coronavirus crisis, including Small Business Grant Scheme funding and Business Support Grants for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors

Through the funding schemes, businesses in receipt of small business rate relief, rural rate relief and expanded retail discount can claim £10,000 or £25,000, depending on their rateable value, in grant funding to support them during the lockdown period.

As of Wednesday, Scarborough Council has distributed £48.9 million to 4,298 businesses across the borough.

The council estimates that there are 5,717 businesses that are eligible for the grant, meaning 75% have got their payments so far.

The council is now urging anyone who has not yet applied to do so.

A spokesman said: “We will continue to work Monday to Sunday, including evenings to process the grant payments.

“We are currently focusing on more complex and incomplete applications i.e. those where we need to seek further clarification.

“We are also chasing businesses who have not yet applied for their grant.

“Business owners seeing our number (01723 232323) on their caller display, should answer the call so that queries can be answered and their grant processed as quickly as possible.”

David Kerfoot MBE, the chairman of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, has also called on businesses to check if they are eligible for help under the schemes.

He added: “It’s a challenging time for our North Yorkshire businesses, and these grants are making a difference for so many.

“It’s important for businesses to access all the help that’s available, so I’d encourage any eligible businesses who hasn’t yet done so to get in touch with their district or borough council as soon as possible, so they can process their grant payment.”

To apply for a grant visit www.scarborough.gov.uk

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you