CARMARTHENSHIRE businesses are being urged to apply for a new round of Covid-19 grants.

The Welsh Government has introduced two non-repayable grants to support eligible businesses impacted by the national firebreak lockdown.

Grants of £5,000 are being made available for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses that have been forced to close (as defined by the regulations) and occupy properties with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000.

Businesses that may be able to apply for the relief package include shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues, as well as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation.

Applicants will need to prove they pay non-domestic rates (as at September 1, 2020), and complete a simple registration form.

In relation to self-catering accommodation, applicants must be able to prove the property has been let for a period of 140 days or more in the financial year 2019-20; that the business is the primary source of income for the owner (minimum threshold is 50 per cent); and must be able to produce two years of trading accounts directly preceding the current financial year of the business.

A grant of £1,000 is being made available to businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief who occupy properties with a rateable value of up to £12,000, and not-for-profit organisations.

Dependent on meeting the eligibility criteria, businesses may also be eligible for a further top-up grant of £2,000, if they have been forced to close (as defined by the regulations).

Businesses may also be entitled to a further £1,000 if they are located in the Health Protection Zone of Llanelli and the business has been materially impacted (50 per cent reduction in turnover) during the three-week period up to October 23, 2020.

Businesses will need to declare that they are trading and generating a turnover to be eligible for this grant, and must prove they pay non-domestic rates (as at September 1, 2020).

Businesses not on the non-domestic rates list may be able to apply for a discretionary grant of £1,500, made available by Welsh Government to assist businesses that have been forced to close as a result of the national firebreak lockdown (as defined by the regulations), or can demonstrate that the firebreak will result in at least a 80 per cent reduction in their turnover for that period. A top up fund of £500 in addition to the £1,500 is available to those who have been subject to local restrictions for three weeks or more up to October 23 and experienced at least 50 per cent reduction in their turnover for that period. Businesses will not be eligible for this grant if the business generates less than 50 per cent of the applicant’s income, or if the applicant is eligible for - or has received - the Lockdown NDR Grant.

The grants will open to applications from 3pm Wednesday, October 28 and will close at 5pm on November 20, 2020 - or when the fund is fully committed, so Carmarthenshire businesses are urged to apply as soon as possible.

“Our businesses have been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic and must be supported. As a council, we will be working hard to administer this new round of grants made available by Welsh Government and I urge all our businesses to apply as soon as they can,” said Cllr Emlyn Dole, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council. “It’s important that businesses check their eligibility and apply quickly as the fund will close as soon as it is fully committed and I do not want any Carmarthenshire businesses to miss out.”

For more information and to make an application (from Wednesday, October 28) visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/business