Businesses in the Dorset Council area which have been ordered to close from 5 November 2020 due to the current national COVID restrictions may be eligible for financial support through the government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG).
Dorset Council is administering the grant on behalf of the government. An online application form and further information is available on Dorset Council’s website at: www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/local-restrictions-support-grant. Eligible businesses will be paid a single fixed amount to cover a four-week period.
If a business has a rateable value of:
– exactly £15,000 or under on November 5, it will receive a payment of £1,334 per 28 day qualifying restriction period
– over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on November 5, it will receive a payment of £2,000 per 28 day qualifying restriction period
– exactly £51,000 or above on November 5, it will receive £3,000 per 28 day qualifying restriction period
To qualify, businesses must be in the Dorset Council area and must have been:
– open as usual before the November lockdown restrictions, and
– providing services in person to customers from the premises, and
– required to close due to restrictions imposed by government, and
– paying business rates for the premises before restrictions started
If a business premises has closed but is still operating a click and collect service, the business can still apply. This could be a pub or restaurant operating a takeaway service, or a shop offering home delivery as an alternative to your usual business.
Cllr Gary Suttle, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Commercial and Capital Strategy, said:
“The government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant is there to support businesses that have been forced to close due to the temporary local restrictions.
“We know this second lockdown will hit local businesses hard, so hope these one-off payments will go some way to help those in need.
“This is an extremely stressful and difficult time for all businesses. I’d like to reassure people that our team will be working hard to process the applications quickly, so that businesses get these funds as soon as possible.”
For businesses which do not have rateable values, the business pages on Dorset Council’s website has details of other Government schemes and initiatives that businesses and organisations may be able to access and information on where to find additional support.
