CENTRAL OFFICE 17 February 2021 – UPDATED NEWS ON APPLYING FOR THE ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS GRANT (ARG) FOR BEING CLOSED:
34 Councils who have given out Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) to those without Business Premises.
Further to the advice and information on grants, in the Guild newsletter to members on 15 February 2021, the following 15 councils have given Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) to small businesses without Business Premises.
They are (Grouped according to the Guild’s geographical Sections):
Northern Section area:
1. Durham County Council;
Yorkshire Section area:
2. Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire;
3. Kirklees Metropolitan Council, West Yorkshire;
4. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council., South Yorkshire;
Lancashire Section area:
5. Bolton Council, Greater Manchester (Lancs.);
6. South Ribble Borough Council, Lancashire;
Midland Section area:
7. Birmingham City Council;
8. Coventry City Council;
9. Wolverhampton: City of Wolverhampton Council, West Midlands;
Notts & Derby Section area:
10. Derby City Council;
Western Section area:
11. Cornwall Council, Truro;
12. Wiltshire Council, Trowbridge;
13. Somerset & West Taunton Council;
14. South Somerset District Council Yeovil;
15. Dorset Council (new wider area since April 2019 covering 6 former councils);
16. Gosport Borough Council, Hampshire;
17. New Forest District Council, Hampshire;
18. Gloucester City Council;
Eastern Counties Section area:
19. Dunstable Town Council, Bedfordshire;
20. West Norfolk Council, Kings Lynn;
21. Breckland Council. Dereham, Norfolk;
22. East Suffolk Council, Lowestoft;
23. South Norfolk Council, Norwich;
24. Kettering Borough Council, Northamptonshire;
London & Home Counties Section area:
25. Uttlesford District Council, Saffron Walden, Essex;
26. Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, Kent;
27. G Folkestone & Hythe District Council (Formerly Shepway) Kent;
28. Gravesham Council, Gravesend, Kent;
29. London Borough of Southwark;
30. London Borough of Richmond;
31. Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex;
32. Lewes District Council, East Sussex;
33. Buckinghamshire Council;
34. Waverley Borough Council, Godalming, Surrey.
• If you live in one of these areas and have either not applied, or have applied and been rejected for not having Business Premises; then do apply / reapply now.
• If you do not live in one of these areas, but have either not applied for the ARG or have applied and been rejected for not having Business Premises; then apply / reapply in your area – quoting these 15 places as evidence that your council should follow suit.
• In all cases, include the CEO of the Council and your local MP in copies of your application / complain to them both if you are rejected.
• Remember to keep all copies of all correspondence related to applications, including screenshots on your phone of online applications.
• Do contact your Section with your experiences good or bad, including the name of your local council, so that we can represent these to the Govt. and so as to help your colleague members.
A reminder of previous advice on applying for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG):
For those who have been applying for Local Authority Grants, if you have been unsuccessful, keep trying and include writing to the Chief Executive of your local council and your local MP. The Tourism & Heritage Minister and Sir David Amess, Chairman of our All-Party Parliamentary Group both have encouraged us to do so.
We have seen research showing that many Local Authorities have considerable amounts of undistributed money.
This advice (below) regarding the Guidance that local authorities have regarding the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) was on the Guild Official Facebook Group on 15th Nov (it is still there):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/417043596355287
(See also Newsletter from Central Office 15 February 2021: https://worldsfair.co.uk/newsletter-from-central-office/
For any queries related to any of the above information, please contact your Section Office directly.
Best wishes with your continuing applications.
The Central Office Team.
