Salisbury Business Improvement District

Guidance for cash grant application

9th April 2020

Dean Speer, a Salisbury BID Director and Partner of Myddelton & Major, has put together guidance to support Salisbury's businesses when applying for the cash grants.

Government announced they were making two cash grants available to businesses across the country to support them through the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the country, these grants are being administered by the Local Rating Authority and are linked to your business rates. For Salisbury businesses, this authority is Wiltshire Council.

The two cash grants available are:

  • £10,000 grants for the smallest businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief
  • £25,000 grants for the small retail, hospitality and leisure sector businesses (with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000)

Whilst businesses who are eligible for the grants should receive a letter, it is possible that Local Authorities are not going to pick up every business who is eligible, so we're urging businesses to be proactive and check the eligibility criteria to see if you qualify.

We'd also like to emphasise to businesses that this is a grant from the Government, not a loan, so there isn’t a requirement for it to be paid back. Therefore our plea to Salisbury businesses is to check the eligibility criteria carefully and make a claim for the grant if your business qualifies.

Here are some top tips to help you claim your grant:

  1. Visit the Valuation Office Agency website here and check your Rateable Value and the description of your rating assessment (i.e. 'shop and premises', 'office and premises')
  2. If your Rateable Value is less than £15,000 and you have already claimed Small Business Rate Relief, regardless of sector, you can claim for the £10,000 grant.
  3. If your Rateable Value is less than £15,000 and you have more than one set of premises, and so do not qualify for Small Business Rates Relief, you may still be eligible for the grant if you are within the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
  4. If your Rateable Value is between £15,001 and £51,000 and you are in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, then you will need to apply to claim your grant. Wiltshire Council should have written to you to advise you of your eligibility. You can submit a claim form for the grant on the Wiltshire Council website here.
  5. If your Rateable description does not clearly fall within retail, hotel or leisure sectors, (shop, restaurant, hotel, bed and breakfast, gym etc) and many have other descriptions, it is possible that Wiltshire Council may not have identified you as being eligible and may NOT have written to you. Therefore you will need to apply for the grant directly.
  6. The Government have set out a list of businesses which they consider would qualify for these grants and those that specifically do not in updated guidance. Having reviewed the guidance, if you think your business could be eligible for the grant, submit the claim form straightaway. Do not wait to see if you get a letter from Wiltshire Council.
  7. If you do receive a letter, please email the letter ref together with the application ref number found in the acknowledgement email once you have submitted your claim, to Covid-19BusinessSupport@wiltshire.gov.uk. This will help with the assessment of your form.
  8. If you occupy multiple properties with separate Rateable Values that meet the eligibility criteria, you are entitled to claim a grant for each property (known as a hereditament) and therefore will need to complete the claim form for each hereditament. Just because you have applied for one hereditament, does not mean that Wiltshire Council will be aware that you have more than one valid property to apply for.
  9. Even if your business is open and still trading, you are still eligible for this grant (as long as you meet the other criteria).

Over 8,000 businesses across Wiltshire are eligible for one of these cash grants.

Wiltshire Cash Grants Updates

Update 9th April 2020: Over 5,000 claim forms have been submitted and a total of £25 million has been paid to businesses. Wiltshire Council have a team working over the Easter weekend to continue processing the grant applications and making payments.

Update 14th April 2020: Over 5,600 claim forms have now been received and Wiltshire Council will have paid out £39 million by the end of the day.

Update 15th April 2020: Over 5,800 claim forms have been received and Wiltshire Council has paid out £42 million to over 3,600 businesses.

Update 17th April 2020: Over 6,000 claim forms have been received and Wiltshire Council has paid out £44.27 million to 3,800 businesses.

Update 30th April 2020: Around 2,500 businesses in Wiltshire who are eligible for one of these grants still haven't applied.

Apply for the cash grant here.

If you have any questions, Wiltshire Council can be contacted on Covid-19BusinessSupport@wiltshire.gov.uk.