Applications to the Government’s Business Restart Grants scheme will go live to City of Wolverhampton businesses on Thursday (1 April).

The scheme supports businesses that are predominantly reliant on delivering in person services for the general public in the non essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym business sectors.

Eligible businesses must submit a new application form regardless of previous grants they have applied for.

They will receive a one off grant payment based on the rateable value of their premises.

Businesses in the non essential retail sector will receive between £2,667 and £6,000, while businesses in the other sectors will receive between £8,000 and £18,000.

City of Wolverhampton Council Director of Regeneration, Richard Lawrence, said: “These latest grants will support businesses in these sectors reopen in what are challenging times for them.

“I would urge the city’s businesses to check what they are eligible for by visiting the website and apply for these critical grants before the deadline on 30 June.

“All grant payments remain a priority and we have support on hand to help businesses with the online application process.

“Working within Government guidelines, we will ensure these new grants get allocated swiftly as our city looks to recover from the financial impact of Covid-19.”

Grant awards will be based on business rates records held on 1 April, 2021, and businesses must be ‘trading’ on this date to be eligible.

The closing date for applications is 30 June, 2021.

Further guidance on the eligibility for each sector is available at Government Business Grants. The online application form will be accessible at the same webpage from 1 April.

If you need help with grant applications or have a general query, you can get in touch with us by emailing business.grants@wolverhampton.gov.uk or calling the business support phoneline on 01902 290242 between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday or from 9am to 4.30pm on Fridays. We are experiencing extremely high levels of demand and would urge businesses to remain patient.