As the COVID-19 business grants schemes come to an end, Fylde Council have disclosed that a staggering £37million was paid out to local businesses, charities, and community groups over the past two years.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fylde Council have awarded over £33million through central government grant schemes to 1600+ businesses, plus over £4million in discretionary awards to 700+ local organisations. The final central government deadline for the schemes closed on 31 March 2022.
In April 2020, the Chancellor announced a series of new grants schemes intended to provide relief to businesses and groups across the nation struggling under opening restrictions, diminished trading and the overall chilling effect on the economy wrought by the Coronavirus pandemic. Fylde Council responded by assembling a specialist team made up of officers from across various service areas, utilising existing skill sets and strengths within the organisation to deliver the schemes efficiently and defray funding as quickly as possible with the appropriate assurance to those organisations who desperately needed support during the first lockdown.
The Council continued to deliver both the central government schemes and discretionary schemes throughout the pandemic, securing the stability of jobs in the local community and the economic position of the borough, and the positive impact of this support on the community continues to be apparent.
Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “The end of the business grants scheme marks a milestone on the road to our country and community recovering from the widespread effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. So many Fylde businesses, charities, community groups, and not-for-profit organisations would not have survived without the funding we have been able to distribute through this grants programme, and we are proud of our achievement in helping our residents persevere.
“On behalf of Fylde Council, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the grant applicants for their patience and cooperation, to the Government for making this funding available, and to our officers for their sterling work and dedication in administering this project. We will soon be running features about specific businesses and organisations who have been helped by the various grants, so I encourage you to keep an eye out for more details coming soon.”
All COVID-19 business grant schemes have now ended, as per the final central government deadline. The limited discretionary funding made available to Fylde Council has been fully spent. The demand has been significant, and it was necessary to determine awards based on an assessment of the impact of the pandemic on each business sector and the individual business circumstances, along with a wider consideration of Fylde’s economic priorities.
Every effort was made to exercise local discretion and to allocate an award to as many eligible local businesses as possible. The awards have been intended to ease the financial burden experienced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but were never intended to recover all ongoing costs or loss of income due to the limited funding available.
Businesses, charities, and community groups who are seeking financial support are encouraged to visit our website for information on other support available to these organisations: www.fylde.gov.uk/covid-19-support-for-businesses/
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