Over £2.5 million available for businesses in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse
Businesses based in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors are being urged to apply for support from the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant fund.
The government, who devised the scheme, has given £1,482,084 to South Oxfordshire and £1,104,075 to the Vale of White Horse to help support local businesses that have been struggling financially due to the recent Covid-19 Omicron variant.
Cllr Leigh Rawlins, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property Assets at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Just as our local pubs, restaurants and hotels were gearing up to a busy Christmas, the Omicron variant came along at the worst possible time. We hope local businesses in these sectors can take advantage of this and other grants to help keep their doors open so we can all enjoy them now and in the future.”
Cllr Andrew Crawford, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Assets at the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “Throughout the pandemic we’ve worked with local partners to support businesses in our districts, through online advice and workshops and grant funding. We urge businesses to visit our South and Vale Business Support website and sign up to our newsletter so we can keep everyone up to date on events and other support as it becomes available.”
To apply, eligible businesses must have been open and trading from a property where they are responsible for paying business rates on 30 December. The criteria of the grant is set by the government and rules of how the money is distributed cannot be changed by the council. Successful applicants could receive between £2,667 and £6,000 depending on the rateable value of the property.
Business owners can find out the full criteria and complete an online application form via the district councils’ South and Vale Business Support website – svbs.co.uk up until midday on 18 February.
Businesses can also stay up to date with all government grants given to the district councils by signing up to the South and Vale Business Support newsletter via their website.
