News of more support in the budget for businesses, and potential investment in Wiltshire, was welcomed by Wiltshire Council.
Leader Cllr Philip Whitehead said: “It’s great news that the Chancellor has announced more funding for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, plus increased opportunities for investment.
“The restart grants and extension of the VAT holiday are welcome news for Wiltshire businesses, and the extension in the Stamp Duty holiday will enable our Land Charges teams to help more people to buy property in the county.
“We’re awaiting more information on the business funding, including guidance on eligible businesses and how much we will be able to grant to support Wiltshire businesses, so we’d ask that people please do not contact us to find out more about this at present, as this will delay the payment of current grants.
“Our team is currently working hard to assess all Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) applications and are processing payment where businesses meet the criteria. They are also currently processing payments for the Local Restrictions Support Grant payments, for the period of 16 February 2021-31 March 2021.
“We will share more information on any business grants, including any future rounds of funding, when we have it. In the meantime, I’d urge all businesses to sign up on our website for our business newsletter to be kept up-to-date with any new developments.
“So far, during the pandemic we have paid 21,105 business grants totalling more than £126 million, and we will continue to do all we can to support Wiltshire businesses.
“We will also look closely at the Levelling Up Fund to see how we can bid for our fair share of this funding, and we will of course continue to look at how we can bid for other Government funding opportunities to secure more investment in Wiltshire.”
To keep up-to-date with business grants, and to sign up for the business newsletter, go to www.wiltshire.gov.uk/business-advice-support-covid19-grants.