Below is an overview of the latest updates on Coronavirus advice and guidance for local businesses. If you’d like your specific questions answered, please get in touch with our team.

More than a thousand Plymouth businesses apply for lockdown support in less than a week.

Plymouth City Council opened the application process for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) on Monday November 16. By last Friday, 1,070 Plymouth businesses had already applied for emergency lockdown, with over £800,000 being paid into business bank accounts.

The scheme is for businesses that were ordered to close as a result of the second coronavirus lockdown and occupy a rateable property. Eligible businesses can claim the following grants, based on their rateable value:

• For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants to be £1,334 per 28 days;
• For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, grants to be £2,000 per 28 days;
• For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over, grants to be £3,000 per 28 days.

More than 3,000 applications are expected to be made under the scheme, with the council aiming to make all grant payments within 10 days of application. If you don’t know your property’s rateable value, you can find out here, as well as further information on eligibility criteria here.

Businesses that pay business rates that have been forced to close are urged to apply for financial support through the LRSG scheme through Plymouth City Council here. To protect against fraudulent claims, you’ll need to supply specific information when you apply:

• Business rates account number;
• Sole traders will be asked to provide their date of birth;
• Bank details;
• An image of your business bank statement or cheque book (if this is your first COVID-19 grant from the council).

Additional Restrictions Grant Scheme

Plymouth has also been allocated £5mil for the discretionary grant scheme – the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) Scheme. If you are not eligible for the LRSG scheme, it might be possible to access support from the ARG scheme instead. More details on the scheme will be available shortly.

If you’d like any further information following these latest updates, please get in touch with our team.