The Council is urging City of Wolverhampton businesses to act fast as the applications window for a number of existing Government grant schemes closes on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.

A dedicated Council phone support team remains in place to guide people through the online application form.

More than £77.5million has so far been distributed by the Council to city businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The grants with a deadline for applications of June 30 are Business Restart Grants; Additional Restrictions Grant - November & December 2020; and Additional Restrictions Grant 2021.

The Council last week launched a range of new discretionary grants to support city businesses and organisations. These are available on a first come, first served basis and will remain open to applications until the limited funds are used.

The new grants target three areas - assisting businesses and organisations not eligible for the Government’s mandatory Restart Grant; helping businesses, organisations, clubs and charities undertake Covid Compliant Scheme measures in line with public health requirements; and supporting Relight Business Programme businesses to invest in their business.

Eligibility criteria and how to access the online application process for all Wolverhampton business support grants can be found at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/businessgrants. Businesses are urged to ensure they have all the correct evidence to hand before starting their application.

If you are unsure which grant you should apply for or have a general query, you can get in touch with the Council 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.

Business are also urged to ensure they have applied for grants from all the periods of lockdown and local restrictions they may be eligible for.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “I would urge Wolverhampton businesses not to miss out on these vital business grants and get in quick with the deadline looming. They can check what they are eligible for simply by visiting the website, where they can also apply.

“As a council, during the whole pandemic we have paid out tens of millions of pounds to thousands of eligible businesses so far to help them.

“We appreciate this is an extremely difficult time for businesses and these payments are our priority.”

If you have already made a recent application for a business grant then you can use this information and evidence as the basis for any subsequent application. 

All of the grants are subject to State Aid rules and are treated as taxable income.

The latest Government information on business grants and support can be viewed at https://bit.ly/32H66MX