Business

Latest Update

Following the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday (22nd Feb) on how the country will re-open, the council has received confirmation that businesses eligible for Local Restrictions Support Grant  (Closed Businesses) will receive further payments to cover the period 16th Feb to 31st March. 
 
Once the council is in receipt of funds from Government we will make payments to eligible businesses.  Businesses do not need to re-apply.

National Lockdown Grants

The government has announced further grant support to businesses following going into Tier 5 on the 5th January. Grants worth up to £9,000 for businesses in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Sectors are to be made available.  Funding will also be available to affected businesses outside these sectors.

 
These one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
 
  • Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under will receive                   £4,000
  • Businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 will receive  £6,000
  • Businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 will receive                          £9,000
  • Business which are legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, are eligible for a grant.
 
In addition, the current Local Restriction Grants for Closed Businesses will continue during this period.
 
We intend to automatically pay the top up grant and a six-week Closed Business Grant for eligible businesses who have already received a grant previously. Therefore, if you have already successfully received a Local Restrictions Support Closed Business Grant from us you will not need to reapply.
 
The government have informed local authorities that that guidance and the funding to pay these new grants will be issued by the end of next week (15 January 2021), therefore we hope to make payments shortly after that. As you will appreciate, we are receiving a large number of enquiries and cannot provide any further information at this time so please bear with us and continue to monitor this webpage.
 
If you are a business that haven't already applied for LRSG (Closed) please check below to see if you are eligible.
 

The Government has made four grant schemes available to Local Authorities to help businesses affected by either local restrictions or national restrictions.  The schemes are referred to as:

 If you require the information in a different format or an alternative language, please email economy&growth@burnley.gov.uk with our requirements.

> Local Restrictions Support Grant Closure Scheme

Burnley was moved into Local COVID Alert Level 3 (Tier 3) (Very High) between 17th October 2020 and 4th November 2020. As a result some businesses were forced to close; this scheme aims to support the following businesses.

Following the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday (22nd Feb) on how the country will re-open, the Council has received confirmation that businesses eligible for Local Restrictions Support Grant will receive further payments to cover the period 16th Feb to 31st March.  Once the Council is in receipt of funds from Government, hopefully next week, we will make payments to eligible businesses.  Businesses do not need to re-apply.

Businesses forced to close on 17th October

  • Pubs and bars who do not serve substantial meals
  • Licensed clubs

Businesses forced to close on 19th October 

  • Adult gaming centres
  • Bingo halls
  • Casinos
  • Bookmakers and betting shops
  • Children's soft play centres

Businesses forced to close on 5th November

  • Non-essential retail
  • Leisure
  • Personal care
  • Sports facilities
  • Hospitality businesses. 

To check which businesses and venues have been required to close from 5th November please follow this link. This scheme is retrospective. How much will be paid depends on the rateable value of the business rates premises that you occupy and when you were forced to close. If you are not a business rate payer you will not qualify for this grant.

Businesses Forced to Close on 2nd December 2020

To check which businesses and venues have been required to close from the 2nd December please follow this link.
 

 Rateable value

 Payment per 14 Day Period

£1 to £15,000 

£667

£15,001 to £50,999

£1,000

£51,000 and above

£1,500

To check your if your business is eligible please click on these links to the relevant government guidance:

> Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) 

Burnley was placed in Local COVID Alert Level 2 (Tier 2) (High) between 5th August 2020 and 16th October 2020. 

This scheme aims to support those businesses not legally required to close but which were severely impacted by localised restrictions between 5th August 2020 and 4th November 2020, prior to the National Restrictions being imposed. 

The scheme is aimed at specific business sectors which are:

  • Hospitality
  • Accommodation (Hotel, Bed & Breakfast)
  • Leisure 

This scheme is retrospective. How much will be paid depends on how long COVID has impacted your business and the rateable value of the business rates premises that you occupy. If you are not a business rate payer you will not qualify for this grant.

 Rateable value

 Payment per 14 Day Period

£1 to £15,000 

£467

£15,001 to £50,999

£700

£51,000 and above

£1050

To check your if your business is eligible please follow this link to the relevant govenment guidance. 

> Local Restrictions Support Grant (Sector) 

This scheme aims to support specific business types that have been subject to national closures since 23 March 2020.

The scheme is aimed at:
  • Nightclubs, dance halls and discotheques
  • Sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars.

Grant payments will be from 1st November 2020 to 4th November then from the 5th November to 2nd December (the national restrictions period) in accordance with the requirements of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum. 

This grant is not retrospective. How much will be paid depends on the rateable value of the business rates premises that you occupy. If you are not a business rate payer you will not qualify for this grant.

 

 Rateable value

 Payment per 14 Day Period

£1 to £15,000 

£667

£15,001 to £50,999

£1,000

£51,000 and above

£1,500
 

To check  if your business is eligible please follow this link to the relevant govenment guidance.

> Additional Restrictions Grant

This scheme is to support businesses across the district that are not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) Open or Closed. This grant scheme will be funded from monies allocated to Burnley Council by the government.
 
Please take your time to read the criteria to see if your business meets the eligibility criteria before completing an application.

Scheme Closing Date :- New applications for the ARG grant must be received by Friday 26th February as the scheme is being closed to enable a review of the scheme to be undertaken.  Following the review, the scheme or a revised scheme may re-open for further applications subject to resources being available. Please keep checking the website for further updates.

 

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THE GRANTS ABOVE 

> Christmas Support Payment For Wet-Led Pubs

Eligible Businesses

To be eligible pubs should under normal circumstances (without local or national restrictions) be:  open to the general public, allow free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided, allow drinking without requiring food to be consumed and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar.

A wet-led pub is defined as a pub that derives less than 50% of its income from sales of food.

For this grant purpose, the definition of a pub excludes: restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites, theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos.

The business must have been registered as the ratepayer in respect of the hereditament on 1 December and must have been trading prior to the commencement of the local restrictions.

Grant Amount

In accordance with Government guidance, this grant will be a one-off payment of £1,000 to each eligible wet-led pub for the period 2 December 2020 to 29 December 2020.

Exclusions from this grant

Pubs that derive over 50% of their income from food sales will not be eligible to receive funding through this grant scheme.

Businesses that have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework are not eligible. Information on State Aid can be found here.

Businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made, are not eligible for funding under this scheme.

Scheme End Date

The last date for receiving applications is Sunday 28th February 2021. Eligible businesses will be contacted by the Council's Local Taxation Team and will be required to complete a short form confirming they meet the eligibility criteria.  If you feel your business meets the eligibility criteria and don't receive an email, then please email localtaxation@burnley.gov.uk to request a form.

All payments to eligible pubs will be made as soon as possible.

Additional Information

Businesses may need to provide evidence to support their statement that the wet-led pub derives less than 50% of its income from sales of food.  If required this evidence will need to be in the form of a set of accounts for the pub with a separate breakdown of the sales of food, beverages and any other income.

Grant income received by a business is taxable. The Christmas Support Payment will need to be included as income in the tax return of the business.

    

Other Financial Support

The Government has issued advice to employers and businesses on support that could be available to them during the current crisis. Find out more

 

General

Our top priority is jobs and skills.

Burnley Council supports companies doing business here. We can offer help and advice if you’re setting up; if you want to grow and expand; develop your workforce through skills improvement or taking on apprentices; or if you want to relocate here.

Click here for information on doing business directly with Burnley Council, as a contractor or supplier, and find out about current and upcoming tender opportunties here.

Working together has helped bring important investment into Burnley: working with Barnfield Developments to create the On The Banks area; opened up direct rail link to Manchester;  worked with Safran to open up the major aerospace supplier village Innovation Drive in the North of town; developed other exciting new employment sites, such as at Burnley Bridge and Vision Park; and much much more.

Many of these positive developments result from the close working between local businesses and Burnley Council which shapes the Burnley Bondholder network - for updates from Bondholders and news and information about local companies, go to burnley.co.uk

Share