How small businesses and retail companies in Aylesbury can get grants direct from the council

This follows reports that there are people cashing in on the Covid-19 situation and offering to ‘help’ businesses by applying for the grants on their behalf – for a fee.

There is no advantage to using a third party to apply for the grant, only the loss of the fee, say Buckinghamshire Council.

Most businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, and businesses receiving Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief will receive a grant as follows:

Eligible properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive a £10,000 grant

Eligible properties with a rateable value of more than £15,000 and up to £51,000 will receive a £25,000 grant

To be eligible for a grant, companies and traders must have been liable for business rates on 11 March 2020. If not, there is no entitlement to relief.

Cllr Martin Tett, Council Leader, said: “At Buckinghamshire Council we work with, and in support of businesses to grow the local economy. These are difficult and strange times and I encourage eligible small businesses, and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, to apply for this grant. It is available without question if you meet the criteria.

“It is disappointing that some people are taking advantage of this crisis to scam others out of the money they are entitled to. Please, do not pay a fee to someone else to make an application for you – there is no need and all it means is a lower pay-out to you.”

A letter was sent on Friday 3 April to all businesses in our business rates system inviting them to apply, using their postal address for all businesses, and their email address if they had provided it to us.

The government-funded grants are available to all eligible businesses and applications can be made on the Buckinghamshire Council website at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/businessgrant