Calderdale businesses can apply for grants from £2.1m pot to soften impact of Omicron virus

Calderdale Council has received around £2.1 million from the Government’s £1 billion Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.

The money will be used to support severely affected hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses with one-off grants of up to £6000.

All businesses must appear on the local Valuation Office Agency ratings list on December 30 2021 to be eligible, and will be paid based on their rateable value.

Councillor Jane Scullion, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, said: “The situation with Omicron is really serious, and we have seen Calderdale’s COVID-19 rates increase to three times their previous peak.

“Unfortunately, this means that every one of us is being affected in some way, whether that’s catching the virus, knowing someone who has it, or being affected by service delays as organisations across the country struggle with staff absences.

“We know this is having an impact on our local businesses and we are doing everything we can to support them, like we have throughout the pandemic. We’re urging hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses that are likely to struggle over the coming weeks to apply for a grant to soften the impact of Omicron.

“We thank all Calderdale businesses for their continued resilience, passion and innovation as we all continue to fight the virus.”

Eligible businesses include restaurants, pubs, cafés, cinemas, theatres, museums, wedding and events venues, nightclubs, tourist attractions, soft play centres, village halls, hotels and caravan sites.

Businesses can also use this web page to make their grant application, for which the closing date is Friday February 11 2022.

The Council will process applications as quickly as possible and all payments will be made by March 31 2022.

Calderdale Council is also receiving £350,000 from the Government’s £102 million Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), which will be used to support more businesses that have been badly affected by Omicron.

The Council is working on the detail of this new ARG top-up scheme and will open it up for applications from eligible businesses as soon as possible.

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