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Businesses in Peterborough which are suffering due to Covid-19 are being urged to apply for the latest round of Government grants.
Peterborough City Council is administering the grant funding on behalf of the Government and during 2020 delivered over £35.5million in business grants, of which £1.65million has been distributed since November and £41million in business rate relief. This has benefited around 2,800 businesses in the city, providing much needed relief from the impact of Covid-19.
Now, during the third national lockdown, the city council is due to be given additional money from the Government to help city businesses and is urging owners and managers to come forward to claim this.
Councillor David Seaton, cabinet member for finance at Peterborough City Council, said: “The Government has given each local authority a pot of cash for it to distribute to help businesses that are struggling due to Covid-19.
“If you are struggling financially and you can meet the eligibility criteria set out by the Government, please do get in contact with us, so we can pass this over to you.”
The funding grants available for businesses to apply for include:
1. Businesses forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions
a. Local restrictions grant funding
b. Discretionary funding – For those who can prove their business has suffered a significant loss of income. This is available on a first come, first served basis in two phases (Phase One – Now until 31 March, Phase Two – 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022).
c. Christmas support payments – To reimburse pubs which predominantly serve alcohol for loss of earnings over the festive period
2. Businesses which have chosen to close due to Covid-19 restrictions (eg businesses that are legally allowed to stay open, but have decided to close due to loss of income)
a. Discretionary funding – For those who can prove their business has suffered a significant loss of income. This is available on a first come, first served basis in two phases (Phase One – Now until 31 March, Phase Two – 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022).
3. Businesses which have stayed open, but have suffered a reduced income due to Covid-19 pandemic
a. Discretionary funding – For those who can prove their business has suffered a significant loss of income. This is available on a first come, first served basis in two phases (Phase One – Now until 31 March, Phase Two – 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022). To find out if your business is eligible for a grant and to apply, visit the council’s website.
Case Study – Kai Wan, owner and director hair salons PKai in Hampton and Westgate in Peterborough
PKai is a Peterborough business success story, they have been established for nearly 20 years and currently have 3 salons with the intention of more to come once the world begins to return to a form of normality. Kai is a stylist and runs the business with his wife Jen.
Kai said: “We wouldn’t have survived this long without the Government business grant we received from Peterborough City Council. The application process was straight-forward and we have used the grants across all of the business from helping to pay rates and rent to investing in PPE and our online shop.”
“PPE was a huge investment for us. Pre-lockdown, our salons worked in different ways. We are segmented by plastic walls and of course our stylists all wear PPE. Once we received the grant funding in the first lockdown, we thought carefully about how best to use this money to future-proof us for the coming months. This has maintained us, and we feel positive about facing the future.”
Business grants in Cambridgeshire are handled by Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council and you can see details about this on their websites.