hydroland2 wrote:Is anyone else (except the problems with Wales) still waiting for any information from their LA about the grant? Think I might have to contact Herefordshire to see if I can find out what's going on as we've still not heard anything
Our local authority is the County and City of Swansea and their performance has been remarkable. All inquiries were met with the same automated response - "We are processing your claim". I was taken by surprise when my June bank statement showed that the council had paid the full grant into our account. The same thing happened this time (October / November) for the local lockdown and firebreak lockdown in Wales. This grant and the two additional discretionary grants were paid into our account yesterday (5th November). There hasn't been any correspondence (mail, email, text, or telephone). They seem to have abandoned communication in the interest of rolling out the grants as efficiently as possible. Any UK holiday owner who hasn't yet switched from Council Tax to Business Rates are missing out on one of the best perks ever.
You are very lucky! My council website says that application form will be available from 13th November.
They were pretty quick last time, though, so no complaints here.
Just been reading the PASC newsletter and it say that the grants are under threat for self-catering businesses primarily so that the Government does not get any more headlines about second homeowners benefitting from these grants.
If you're interested have a look at the latest newsletter here:
Hi,
Breckland council.
they were quick with the grant earlier this year as well.
Completed on line form stating that we were required to close and that we were open normally prior to the 5th nov.
In Wales, the national two-week lockdown grant is £1000. There is an additional grant of £1,000 for businesses that were affected by the previous local lockdown arrangements for a period of three weeks or more. On top of this, there is a £2,000 discretionary grant for businesses that were forced to close by the firebreak lockdown.
dwtmill wrote:In Wales, the national two-week lockdown grant is £1000. There is an additional grant of £1,000 for businesses that were affected by the previous local lockdown arrangements for a period of three weeks or more. On top of this, there is a £2,000 discretionary grant for businesses that were forced to close by the firebreak lockdown.
Not automatically for SC businesses though - you've got to provide 2 years of accounts, proof of letting for 140 days and proof that it provides over 50% of your income. You can't apply for the national one if you qualify for the local one - oh and the money ran out for the local one within 36 hours of the applications being opened
Cymraes wrote:Not automatically for SC businesses though - you've got to provide 2 years of accounts, proof of letting for 140 days and proof that it provides over 50% of your income. You can't apply for the national one if you qualify for the local one - oh and the money ran out for the local one within 36 hours of the applications being opened
Is this a reflection of the north/south divide or a community tax/business rates issue? As I understand things these grants are for small businesses with a rateable value of less than £12,000. We had to submit this information years ago when we switched our self-catering cottage from community tax to business rates. With these Covid-19 grants, we didn't have to fill out any forms and had virtually no contact with Swansea city council. The money just turned up in our bank account without any notification whatsoever.
Cymraes wrote:Not automatically for SC businesses though - you've got to provide 2 years of accounts, proof of letting for 140 days and proof that it provides over 50% of your income. You can't apply for the national one if you qualify for the local one - oh and the money ran out for the local one within 36 hours of the applications being opened
Is this a reflection of the north/south divide or a community tax/business rates issue? As I understand things these grants are for small businesses with a rateable value of less than £12,000. We had to submit this information years ago when we switched our self-catering cottage from community tax to business rates. With these Covid-19 grants, we didn't have to fill out any forms and had virtually no contact with Swansea city council. The money just turned up in our bank account without any notification whatsoever.
I provided all that when we switched to business rates. I had to provide it for the March grant and now again for this latest one. Some of the Welsh councils really hate us.
Cymraes wrote:I provided all that when we switched to business rates. I had to provide it for the March grant and now again for this latest one. Some of the Welsh councils really hate us.
It's hard to believe that the local authorities in North Wales do not appear to be supportive of your contribution to the tourism industry. I can only speak of my experience in the Swansea area. Here the council is fully committed to tourism and supports all sectors of the industry. It's a strange world.