Lockdown grants will return to help Northampton's businesses stay afloat over next four weeks

Northampton businesses will be able to claim for a new round of grants to help them bay their bills during the second national lockdown.

Non-essential shops have once again ordered to close their doors over the next four weeks following the latest coronavirus lockdown that began on Thursday.

It means thousands of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will lose out on income despite the ability to provide click-and-collect services this time around.

Now, the borough council has announced it has been allocated £2.9million by the Government to provide grants.

However, the online portal for business owners has not been made available yet.

The application form will be available from the borough council's coronavirus support page here.The council has also promised that in 2020/21, "no businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure industry will pay business rates, regardless of size."

The 'Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Grant' will be distributed to those businesses that must close, for the four-week lock-down. These will be grants of:

■ For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants to be £1,334 per four weeks

■ For properties with a rateable value of over £15,000 and below £51,000, grants to be £2,000 per four weeks

■ For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over, grants to be £3,000 per four weeks. This is a new grant that was not available during the previous lockdown.

Any business which has been severely affected by the lockdown could also benefit from discretionary funding.Councillor Brandon Eldred, council cabinet member for finance, said: “We have been trying to prepare as best we can but are always reliant on the Government formal instructions to understand what we can or can’t do.

“We will deliver these grants as fast as we can, but we also have been cautioned by Government to be mindful of the level of attempted fraud, so must do the necessary checks and balances.

“We are seeking to reuse as much data as we can from previous schemes. This would mean that, if we are paying funds into the same bank account, those who previously received a grant will benefit from a simpler process.

“We will still need them to prove they are still trading and that grant support will not breach state aid rules.

“It is important that businesses check that they are on the Government’s list of businesses required to close, before they do so, as if they are not, they might be ineligible for grants."

Businesses which are required to be closed will be considered ‘closed’ for the purposes of this grant. If they are able to operate a form of ‘click and collect’ safely to assist their business they may do so.

Councillor Eldred added: “One frequent comment we see around supporting retailers is that they should receive business rate relief.

“I can reassure everyone that for 2020/21 no businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure industry will pay business rates, regardless of size, which equates to around £40 million of relief for businesses in our Borough.”

The council has also been awarded £4.492 million of ‘Additional Restrictions Grant’, which has not yet been received. How this money will be used is being developed.