Discretionary grants to support businesses during the pandemic

Cornwall has received around £13.5m from the government to use for Discretionary grants for small businesses. The council are aiming to get this money to businesses as quickly as possible through new grants.

Who can claim Discretionary Grants?

The council can provide funding from this grant to small and micro businesses depending on the following terms:

• The business has been negatively affected by COVID-19
• It hasn’t already received financial assistance through other government schemes
• The business continues to have high fixed-term costs related to property such as rent or mortgage payments

How much can I claim?

Due to the expected demand for this particular funding, and to make sure money is distributed to businesses as quickly as possible, the following Discretionary grants will be available to small and micro businesses:

Standard grant £10,000

Larger grants up to £25,000

A larger grant will only be considered in very specific circumstances for businesses that meet the criteria outlined in the policy.

Am I Eligible?

The funding given to Cornwall must be prioritised for support to businesses that fall in four groups. If your business falls into one of these four groups you can apply for a discretionary grant.

1. Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment
2. Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment;
3. Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates, where the Bed and Breakfast business is the main income/occupation of the business owner. Grants will not be made available to individuals who occasionally rent out a room or their property through platforms such as AirBnB
4. Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief –  i.e. have a rateable value less than £15,000

Apply for a Grant Now

It is advised that you read the grant policy before you apply.

Click here to read the Cornwall Council grant policy.

You can apply for a Discretionary Coronavirus Support Grant now, please note that the application form will be unavailable on Sat 23  between 8.30am and 2pm.

Click here to go to the application form now.

For the original announcement from Cornwall Council, visit the Council website. We are always here to take any question you might have about the Discretionary Coronavirus Support Grant, or any other Coronavirus funding that is available. Speak to our team, or reach out on social media!