East Cambridgeshire District Council has published details of the third round of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, with wider eligibility criteria to support more businesses affected by national restrictions.

The ARG scheme is designed to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions in place from 26 December 2020 to 15 February 2021 that have not been eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant.

The ARG is a discretionary funding scheme managed by the district council to support businesses during periods of lockdown relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants will be paid as one-off grants and are for businesses who experienced a loss of income of over 30 per cent that was directly related to, or as a result of, the Tier 4 and national lockdown restrictions in place between 26 December 2020 and 15 February 2021.

These businesses must be

• either a customer-facing business whose primary activity is the sale of goods or services to the public on a face-to-face basis that were able to remain open during restrictions and lockdown but were severely impacted,
• or a business that does not have a business rate account that was legally required to close during Tier 4 or national lockdown restrictions.

Ineligible businesses include those allowed to be open that do not rely on offering in-person services; businesses that have chosen to close but not required to; and businesses that are unable to demonstrate a significant loss of income of at least 30% due to COVID-19.

A full list of businesses that were required to close can be found on the gov.uk website.

As part of the ARG scheme, closed businesses that do not have a business rates account may be entitled to

• £5,000 if they are a community facility such as a village hall,
• £5,000 if they operate from a domestic property
• or £6,000 if they operate from a commercial property.

Open customer-facing businesses, with or without a business rates account, that were allowed to be open during Tier 4 restrictions and the national lockdown but were severely impacted, are eligible for a £4,000 grant.

Businesses are invited to submit an application to the District Council if they meet the eligibility requirements for the ARG scheme, can prove that they were open for business as usual before 26 December, have suppliers or customers that were required to close from 26 December, and can demonstrate a loss of income of 30 per cent or more, .

Businesses can apply

• online by requesting an application form by emailing covid19businessgrants@eastcambs.gov.uk
• or by telephone by calling 01353 665555.

The closing date for applications for the scheme is 5pm on Friday 19 March 2021.