There are a number of business support grant schemes which are available from Fareham Borough Council. Details are provided below with further information and application forms available on the Council’s website: https://www.fareham.gov.uk/business/business_rates/grants.aspx
If you have any questions about any of these schemes, please e-mail brgrants@fareham.gov.uk or call (01329) 824651.
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Schemes
If you pay business rates and the government has forced your business to close in recent months, then you may be eligible for a local restriction support grant. These schemes are also open to businesses who have been forced to close their substantive service but who are still able to provide take away, home delivery or click and collect services.
Grants to cover the period of national restriction between 5 November 2020 and 2 December 2020 are already available and can be claimed using the on-line application form on the Councils website (https://www.fareham.gov.uk/business/business_rates/grants.aspx) under the heading Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG)(Closed) Addendum Scheme.
Grants to cover the period of the Tier 2 restrictions from 3 December 2020 will be available early in January and will automatically be paid to eligible businesses who have applied for the November scheme.
Additional Restrictions Grant Schemes
The Additional Restrictions Grant schemes provide support to businesses (including charities, non-profit organisations, community interest companies or similar organisations) who have been affected by the pandemic and who are not eligible for assistance under the Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme.
The first of these schemes is now open for applications and covers the period of the national restrictions in force between 5 November 2020 and 2 December 2020.
The scheme aims to assist the following 3 eligible groups, where the business usually has an annual turnover of over £10,000:
- Business rate payers not forced to close who experienced increased costs or reduced income of more than 15%
- Non-rate payers operating out of commercial premises who were forced to close or were not forced to close but experienced increased costs or reduced income of more than 15%.
- Businesses that operate from domestic premises who were forced to close or were not forced to close but experienced increased costs or decreased income of more than 15%
Businesses that operate from domestic premises and so were not eligible for the discretionary grants scheme earlier in the year, may also be eligible for a top up payment under this scheme.
These grants can be claimed using the on-line application form on the Councils website (https://www.fareham.gov.uk/business/business_rates/grants.aspx) under the heading Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG-T1)
Christmas Support Payments for Pubs
An extra grant payment of £1,000 is available for pubs who usually derive less than 50% of their income from food sales.
We will be contacting pubs directly who we think will be eligible for this payment. However, if you do not hear from us and believe you are eligible then you can complete the on-line application form on the Councils website (https://www.fareham.gov.uk/business/business_rates/grants.aspx) under the heading Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs
Market Traders Pitch Reimbursements
The Council is reimbursing the pitch fees for market traders who trade at the Fareham and Portchester markets from Monday 14th December 2020 until the end of March 2021. This scheme is open to casual and new traders as well as regular market traders. Reimbursements are organised through the market operators Brays Associates who can be contacted on 07737 630843 or by email email@bray-associates.co.uk.
Other schemes in development
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) Scheme: We are currently inviting businesses to express an interest in this new discretionary scheme for businesses not forced to close but have suffered as a result of the Tier 2 restrictions. We will contact those expressing an interest in the scheme once we have completed our design of the scheme and the application process is live.
The link to express an interest can be found on the Councils website (https://www.fareham.gov.uk/business/business_rates/grants.aspx) under the heading Tier 2 Restriction Grants (from December 2020)
Further Additional Restrictions Grants – There will be further discretionary schemes available in the form of both grants and wider support schemes, such as business mentoring, in 2021. To help inform us on the best way that assistance can be provided to businesses using this funding, we will be encouraging businesses to partake in a short survey early on in the New Year.
