Applications for Government Restart Grants, which are being administered by Huntingdonshire District Council, (HDC) are now open.

HDC has already paid out £7,069,392 million of Restart Grants to 929 local businesses identified to be eligible from preexisting grant applications, which mean businesses did not have to submit an additional application.

HDC says it it now ready to accept Restart Grants applications from those businesses which have not previously applied for grant support and fulfil the eligibility criteria.

The grant, which has been developed to cover business rate-paying businesses, is a one-off payment that is accessible for organisations from the following six sectors:

· Non-essential retail

· Hospitality

· Leisure

· Accommodation

· Gym & sports

· Personal care

Further to this funding, Huntingdonshire District Council is also offering a discretionary grant to

business ratepayers who would not be eligible for Restart Grant funding. The enhanced Additional

Restriction Grant is available to eligible businesses that have experienced a significant loss of income directly related to, or as a result of, national lockdown restrictions.

Executive leader of HDC, Cllr Ryan Fuller, said: "It is a priority for the council to support local businesses and help them to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

"This is why we streamlined our processes to ensure that we could process Restart Grant payments to eligible businesses quickly and without the need for another application.

"We are also aware that there are businesses who have not been able to access Government financial support, which is why we are now expanding Restart Grant applications to newer businesses and enhancing the Additional Restrictions Grants scheme, to enable more support to reach the businesses of Huntingdonshire.”

The application forms for both the Restart Grants and the enhanced ARG are available at: www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/business/covid-business-grants/ and applications should be submitted by May, 31, 2021.

The enhanced ARG funding pot is finite and is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. If the fund is fully allocated before May 31, HDC will update the website and will stop accepting applications. For more information on how Huntingdonshire District Council is supporting local businesses, see www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk.