Received from South Hams District Council:

Businesses in the South Hams and West Devon which were ordered to close when the national restrictions began on 5 November 2020, can now apply for a grant of either £1,334, £2,000, or £3,000 depending on the rateable value of the business.

From today (Monday 16 November) businesses can apply for the grant through the councils' websites – www.southhams.gov.uk or www.westdevon.gov.uk

Applications will be processed on a first come first served basis and the first payments will reach bank accounts from Wednesday 25 November.

At the beginning of the current national restrictions, central government announced that there would be further support for businesses who could not trade. This grant is called the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) and is aimed at those businesses which were told that they must close because of the threat posed by COVID-19.

Businesses from the hospitality industry, including pubs, restaurants, and holiday accommodation are included in the list of those eligible for the grant. Those which provide personal care, such as hairdressers, beauty salons, and many businesses in the leisure industry such as gyms, swimming pools, and soft play centres are also on the list.

If a business (included in the list) is substantially closed but still able to offer some click and collect or take-away service, it is still eligible for this business support grant.

A full list of all the businesses that were instructed to close, and those on the exemption list can be found on the Government's business advice pages: www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/closing-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england

Once approved the grant will provide those eligible businesses with a rolling 28-day grant, lasting as long as the national restrictions apply.

The amount of Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) awarded to you will depend on the rateable value of your business premises:

To be eligible for this current Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG), there are four conditions with which your business must comply:

1. Occupy and be liable for business rates on a property that appears in the Local Rating List on 4 November 2020
2. Have been trading on 4 November 2020
3. Have been open as usual on 4 November 2020 and providing in-person services to customers from their premises; and
4. Mandated to close from 5 November 2020 to visiting members of the public for a consecutive period of no less than 28 days as a result of regulations made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1994.

You must also have the following information to hand before you start your application process. We do not want your payment to be delayed so please make sure you send in the correct information:

• Recent bank account statement showing account number and address
• Your company number

In addition, the councils are encouraging all businesses to keep following them on social media and to sign up for their business email alerts.

Apply for the grant on the councils’ Business Support Pages

southhams.gov.uk/LRSG