Croydon pubs, clubs, restaurants and leisure businesses hit by Covid-19 are being urged to apply for a new £10,000 grant funded by government and run by the council.
Eligible businesses forced to close during the latest national lockdown and previous restrictions can now apply for a new £10,000 grant to help with their running costs.
The new grant applies to businesses including pubs, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels with a bar or restaurant, sports clubs, theatres and independent cinemas.
To view the eligibility criteria and apply for the new grant, visit the council website.
The money is available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible businesses that open in the evenings and night-times. It is a grant, not a loan, so it does not need to be paid back.
The new £500,000 Evening & Night-time Economy Grant fund is the latest is a series of grants to be made available to local firms by Croydon Council, which has distributed over £60m to eligible businesses in the borough since the first lockdown.
To qualify for the new grant, businesses must have physical trading premises in Croydon they pay a monthly mortgage or rent on; have been active on 5 January 2021 (even if they could not be open); and can prove that their premises would be open to paying customers at 9pm at least five days a week outside the pandemic.
The council will assess each application received within 20 working days, and successful applicants will receive funding within seven working days after that.
Businesses that have received funding from either last autumn’s first phase of the Additional Restrictions Grant schemes or the current phase two can still apply for this latest grant if they are eligible. Businesses can also apply even if they have received funding from any of the Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes.
Businesses that applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme or are in receipt of a Bounce Back Loan are also eligible to apply for this scheme.
“Croydon’s vibrant and varied night-time economy has been hit particularly hard by the national lockdown and the tiered Covid-19 restrictions, so I hope eligible businesses apply for this new grant.
“Our council staff have been working hard to make sure that every eligible local business gets the grant help they need as quickly as possible, so I urge you to apply if your business qualifies for this new help for Croydon’s evening economy.”
Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, cabinet member for economic recovery and skills
To get up-to-date information, sign-up to the council’s business newsletter. For extra support and advice, email: economicdevelopment@croydon.gov.uk
