Businesses urged to apply for Omicron support grant

Generic photo of a restaurant

Hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses in Mansfield affected by the current rise in Covid cases are being encouraged to apply for a support grant.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant provides up to £6,000 in support and is being distributed by Mansfield District Council to local enterprises on behalf of the Government. Applications are open now via the council website's coronavirus pages.

To be eligible for the taxable one-off grant, applicants must be actively trading and offer in-person services at the premises for which they pay business rates.

All applicants must have been actively trading on 30 December 2021 to be eligible. Businesses facing closure are not eligible and there may be restrictions on businesses that have already received grant payments in previous schemes. 

The level of grant is determined by how much the business pays in rates and ranges from £2,667 to £6,000. The council will be conducting rigorous scrutiny of claims to ensure they meet the criteria and to detect any possible fraudulent activity. 

Among the types of business eligible for the help are: pubs, restaurants, cafés, and nightclubs; casinos, cinemas, museums, theatres and art galleries; events venues, concert halls and tourist attractions; amusement arcades, soft play centres and village halls; campsites, holiday parks, hotels, guest houses, hostels and holiday accommodation.

Ineligible businesses include: gyms, shops, food outlets which are primarily takeaways, coach tour operators, tour operators, private dwellings, education accommodation, residential homes, care homes and residential family centres.  

Cllr Craig Whitby, Portfolio Holder for Finance, said: "Omicron has been a blow for many hospitality and leisure businesses at a time of year when they were banking on increased trade, so we hope they will take up the offer of this grant.

"We know this support probably won't entirely make up for what could be a big dent in their finances at the end of months of challenging trading conditions, but it is still worth applying for this grant."

For more information about the grant and to access an online application form, visit the council website (link opens in new window).

Published: January 12th 2022