BUSINESS owners throughout the city who have been impacted by Covid-19 are being reminded to apply for a support grant if eligible.
The £1 million fund sees £900,000 of the pot allocated to support hospitality businesses forced to close under the local lockdown regulations, while the remaining £100,000 discretionary fund is open to business premises that have seen a downturn in trade specifically due to restrictions impacting footfall and customer ability to travel to attend appointments or bookings.
Hair salons, beauty therapists, jewellery and gift shops, repair services, guest houses, charity and community cafes have all been helped.
David Groundwater, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) development manager, said: “The funding package administered by Aberdeen City Council is certainly welcome and something FSB called for before this lockdown began.
“The funds offer short term help for businesses across the city that have been impacted by the local lockdown restrictions and will go some way to help businesses get back up to speed.
“We’d encourage any Aberdeen business, that has not already applied, to check the criteria for both funds and submit their application as soon as possible to allow successful awards to be made sooner rather than later.”
Jenny Laing, council co-leader, said: “Local businesses need all the help they can get, and we want to ensure they are able to access every penny they are entitled to.”
The fund will operate as a two-tiered scheme, with a smaller grant of £1,000 for businesses with a Rateable Value (RV) of under £51,000 and a larger grant of £1,500 for those businesses with a RV over £51,000.
