Businesses set to benefit from additional Covid-19 recovery support

Cheshire West businesses will benefit from an extra £1.9 million of government funding through a new programme of grant assistance to eligible businesses.

The first round of payments from the government’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) was successfully distributed earlier this year resulting in the additional pot of funding. 

The additional funds are for those businesses who have been financially impacted by Covid-19 restrictions due to the delayed reopening in July 2021 and those businesses who have been affected financially due to staff self-isolating.

In addition to the direct funding a wider programme of measures to support growth will include a   business start- up programme and several incentives to encourage business expansion within key sectors to retain and attract new investment into the Borough.

There is also a programme to support recruitment and training within sectors facing short term skills shortages and expecting a high number of vacancies.

Councillor Carol Gahan Cabinet Member for Finance said: “Restrictions have lifted but the economic impact of the pandemic has been devastating and will be felt by our businesses for a very long time that’s why it’s vital that we all support them.

“The extra funding the Council has secured will help us to continue to support the recovery of businesses and create new job opportunities as well as stimulating entrepreneurship and growth.

“Our finance team created a simple application process for what has been a complex set of grants and we will be making the new funding as easy as possible to apply for.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic Cheshire West and Chester Council has delivered nearly £117m in grant funding to businesses. This involved coordination of over ten different grant schemes for businesses since the start of the pandemic, including the Restart Grant Scheme, introduced from April 2021, and the ARG.

For details of the grant assistance please visit:

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/grant

For details and updates of the wider business support available, businesses can register at:

www.letstalkbizcw.co.uk/Register