North Herts District Council have announced additional support announced for businesses in our area affected by the Covid crisis.

Businesses in north Herts impacted by the current national lockdown could be eligible for additional grant support, following the latest Government announcement this month.

NHDC has already paid out more than £1m to almost 700 businesses in north Herts which have applied for the Local Restriction Grants and the Additional Restriction Grants.

This is in addition to more than £27 million previously paid out to 2,300 businesses across North Herts during the pandemic - and this month the government announced one-off top up grants worth up to £9,000 per property, for businesses which have had to close due to restrictions.

Hitchin councillor Ian Albert, NHDC's Executive Member for Finance, said: "We are pulling out all the stops in order to repeat the quick payments of last year, and where we can, we're reducing the burden on businesses, making it easier and quicker to apply.

"We are now managing many different grant schemes covering different levels of restrictions for different lengths of time, so we appreciate your patience."

The new grant will be awarded to eligible closed businesses as follows:

·£4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under

£6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000

£9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

North Herts District Council (NHDC) is currently setting up the process for paying these grants as soon as possible. In the meantime, business can check if they're eligible here

Grant schemes currently available to eligible businesses include:

Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 business grant payments

NHDC has launched an online application which will be used to calculate all the awards that are due to your business and will be paid in bulk, to reduce the need to apply for each scheme separately.

Christmas Support Payment for Wet-Led Pubs – open until 31 Jan 2021

One-off £1,000 grants are payable to 'wet-led' pubs (those whose trade is predominantly based on drinks rather than food) which have been severely impacted over the festive season due to temporary local restrictions.

Local Restrictions Support Grants for businesses forced to close between 5 Nov 2 Dec – open until 31 Jan 2021

Business ratepayers that have been mandated to close during the last national lockdown (5 November to 2 December) can apply for a Local Restrictions Support Grant. To be eligible, you must be a business ratepayer and you must be mandated to close.

Councillor Keith Hoskins, NHDC's Executive Member for Enterprise and Co-Operative Development said: "If you haven't applied for a grant recently, please check what you may be eligible for and apply straight away (insert URL)

"I would urge businesses who have fallen through the cracks, to please contact us as soon as possible either by emailing [email protected] or calling 01462 474668 ."

For more information and to apply for grant support, visit NHDC's Coronavirus business grants and funds page.