City of Wolverhampton Council is urging eligible charities, community and voluntary groups in the city to apply for free business grants.

The grants are designed to support groups that have been forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic or have been severely impacted by the restrictions.

Groups can make an application for the Local Restrictions Support Grant or the Additional Restrictions Grant.

They cover the period from November 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021, with eligible applicants receiving between £8,303 and £18,675 depending on the criteria.

Businesses who contact the Council’s support team will be offered help completing the online application form.

City of Wolverhampton Council Director of Regeneration, Richard Lawrence, said: “Like many other businesses, charities, community and voluntary groups have been significantly impacted by the lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions - and these grants offer them a lifeline.

“I would urge groups to head to the business grants webpage and find out exactly what funding is available to them at this critical time.

“There is also support in place to help guide eligible groups through the online application process to access these free grants.”

The Council is urging groups to act fast as the applications deadline for a number of existing grant schemes has been set by Government for Wednesday, March 31.

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. Groups 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.

All grant application forms submitted are subject to thorough eligibility checks.

Further communication with groups may be necessary if any of the required information is missing.

Full details of the latest national business support measures can be found at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support./