News Don’t delay – Just 14 days to apply for business grant
There are just 14 days left to apply for a one off non-repayable cash grant from Maidstone Borough Council to support small businesses and charities struggling to meet their fixed building related costs during Covid-19.
The Council has already received 88 applications for this new Local Authority Discretionary Grant scheme and each one will be considered against the criteria. The scheme is now open to people in receipt of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) as government has revised the guidance.
Businesses need to be quick and apply as soon as possible as the deadline for applications is Monday 8 June.
The scheme is primarily aimed at helping those businesses not eligible for other forms of government support, such as small businesses operating in a shared workspace, bed and breakfast businesses that pay Council Tax and local charities that have their offices within the borough.
The Council has received £1.4million in funding from Government to support businesses and expects grants to reflect the level of support needed, (each application will be considered according to need – with most awards expected to be under £10,000).
All applications will be verified and considered before any decisions are made, with grants paid from Monday 15 June.
Stephen McGinnes, Mid Kent Services Director at Maidstone Borough Council said:
“This grant is to try and help those businesses and charities that haven’t qualified for previous government grants during these difficult times.“In order to get the grant out to those businesses in need we have to turn this around quickly which is why we have such tight timescales and are asking businesses to complete the online form by 8 June.”
All businesses applying for the grant will need to meet the following criteria:
* Businesses with ongoing fixed building-related costs
* Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the Covid-19 crisis
* Small Businesses as defined by the Company Act 2006
* Businesses that were trading on 11th March
* Businesses which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000