Wiltshire Council extends closing date of Additional Restrictions Grant for businesses to Monday 15 February

The grant supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes, such as the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) and the Christmas Support Payment (CSP), and is open for new applications only, or for those who had previously applied before November 2020. Any business that has already applied for an ARG since November does not need to reapply as they will, if eligible, receive any further payments automatically.

This current application window has been open since Tuesday 26 January, and the council has already received more than 800 applications for this round of funding. The previous round of ARG funding saw more than 890 applications paid totalling £1.17m.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "We want as many eligible businesses as possible to apply for this grant, so we have extended the closing date until the end of the day on Monday.

"However, it's really important that businesses help us to help them and don't take up officer time with repeated or duplicate applications, so please do not apply if your business has already had a payment, or if we already have your details. If we already have your details or if you have applied before, you will be paid automatically when you are eligible.

"Depending on the number of employees a business has, the grants range from £1,500 to £10,000, so any business that has not yet received grant funding, or that is not eligible for the LRSG should apply by using the form on our website.

"If we receive further government funding and there is sufficient demand, we may reopen ARG applications at a later date, but we cannot guarantee that we will, so it's important that eligible businesses apply now.

"In total, across all grant schemes, we have paid out more than £121m to support Wiltshire businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic."

The eligibility criteria for this grant is determined by the assessment of each individual application, so if they think they are eligible, businesses are encouraged to apply for the ARG before the closing date.

To find out more about these discretionary grants, and to apply, visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news/extend-additional-restrictions-grant.