The grants are to support traders who have suffered a negative financial impact due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant.  

The latest round of funding will provide a one-off grant payment to support affected businesses who are not eligible for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) announced earlier this month. Those eligible include:

• Non-rated businesses in the hospitality or leisure sectors (excluding sports) or supply chain businesses that provide services or products, exclusively to these sectors.
• Rated or non-rated personal care providers for example hair and beauty, holistic therapies, osteopaths, acupuncturists where treatment cannot be provided virtually or digitally.

As this is a new scheme with new eligibility criteria, the Council is encouraging businesses falling within these categories to check the terms and conditions and submit their application as soon as possible.

Councillor John Cooke, Portfolio Holder for Place and Economy, said: "This is possibly a final opportunity for small businesses and suppliers who will have missed out on previous schemes to receive some much-needed financial support for the loss of trade incurred over the past few months.”

Deputy Leader, Councillor Richard Hales added: “These are grants, not loans and can be applied for in a safe and secure way.  I would urge everyone who falls within these new criteria to take five minutes to check they’re eligible and get their application to us.” 

Applications will close at 4pm on Friday 11 February 2022. As funding and number of grants available are limited, the scheme will operate on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, once a requisite number of applications has been reached, WDC will close the application window, this action may be taken ahead of the intended closing date.

Full details including the application form.