Work far from over despite £57m of grants paid out to Kirklees businesses

As of April 22 the Council had made payments to 5,168 Kirklees businesses - totalling £57.32million for the government’s Business Grants scheme.

However, Councillor Pandor is urging eligible businesses who have yet to apply to do so as soon as possible at www.kirklees.gov.uk/coronavirusbusiness.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said: “Our local businesses are a huge part of what makes Kirklees such a great place. This is an incredibly difficult and stressful time for our business owners and I want you to know that you have our full support now and in the future when we can start to begin to get back to some kind of normality.

“We have a dedicated team working hard so we can pay these business grants out as soon as possible. I’m pleased that we have been able to act so quickly in getting this money to our business owners who are relying on it.

“This is a good start but there is still much more to do and let me reassure you that we are continuing to treat this as an absolute priority and will pay the money out to those who have applied as soon as possible.

“We are also on with our plans for the future and will do everything we can to make sure our local businesses can pick up where they left off, when the time is right, and thrive as part of our local economy.

“If you’re a business owner and haven’t yet applied, I urge you to please do so via the online form on the Council website so we can help you as soon as possible.”

All businesses in Kirklees with a rateable value of less than £15,000 and who are already in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief or tapered relief are eligible for a £10,000 Small Business Grant.

In addition, businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000, are eligible for a £25,000 grant under the Government's Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme to help mitigate loss of trade or other impacts of the COVID-19.